To Become Free
by Flaming Author 22
Summary: All Jaune wanted was to be free of the shackles of his past and the people who made his life a living Hell in different ways. He had a mother who was dying from a dangerous disease and a job he wanted to work full time. However, in order to make his father happy Jaune starts his college life and attempts to make the best of things. Life however, isn't that kind. (Hiatus )
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Well, another new fic. I wanted to try my hand at writing a college fic since I have always enjoyed reading them. I will try to update my other stories soon as well once I get more free time. Enjoy.**

 **Chapter 1: First Day of Hell?**

Jaune was leaning back on the bus seat as he looked out the window. The sky was clear and the sun was setting in the horizon.

Large skyscrapers stood as giants in downtown Vale. Dozens of airships flew through the sky carrying passengers across all parts of the city. Having disliked airships from his motion sickness he was perfectly fine taking the bus anyway.

He cringed knowing his ride was almost over and he would reach his destination soon. It made him sick.

The thought of being stuck with those people for another year…It was haunting.

Four years of high school was bad enough but now college too? He thought he was going to be free the second he graduated and summer came around.

He had managed to even find a decent job for the summer and if was given the choice he would have just stayed working there.

His father, however had instead insisted he go to university.

It wasn't that he didn't want to go to college. He knew how valuable it was and getting that scholarship paying for his first year was no short feat.

Having little else to do in high school, he was able to keep his grades fairly high.

However, he was hoping to wait four years until his high school tormentors had graduated from the university.

Since there was only one university in the capital of Vale it was obvious they were going there. Also, the fact of them bragging about being accepted on social media was a good indicator.

However, he could not wait and just work full time at his current job. His father had told him to apply and he did. That scholarship had sealed his fate.

Now he didn't mean to sound like so ungrateful, but between worrying about his mom's health and the people who made his life miserable in in high school you will have to forgive him for not being the most excited.

He cringed as the bus made a loud screeching sound as it came to a stop.

He had been the only one on the bus and as such was the only one to slowly make his way off.

Everyone else had probably taken an airship or drove he was sure.

Considering he still didn't have enough for a car, driving was out of the question.

The warm sidewalk greeted his shoes as he exited and the bus wasted no time in departing.

He gazed at the large Academy as students walked into the large courtyard and in and out of the school. Some were probably heading to the dorms in the east or the gym in the western section. Others were probably heading back into the downtown area of Vale and waited for an airship to make its secluded run at one of the docking areas.

' _Oh, boy college…Welcome to the first day of the rest of my hell.'_

He felt his scroll vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out.

His family hadn't contacted him so it could only be one person who had sent the text message.

" _Hey Jaune are you on campus yet? I was hoping we could catch up before you head to your dorm."- Pyrrha._

Jaune quickly deleted the message as he gave a bitter laugh.

' _Catch up on what? Using me? Ditching me the second you made other friends?'_

The fact that she still even had his number was astonishing to him in itself and this wasn't the first message he had gotten from her.

The first message he had gotten from her in the last few years was last week.

He opened it and decided to delete it too. He gave it one last read.

' _Hey Jaune…I know its bee awhile. I know we haven't been the best friends since we entered high school but I was thinking we could get past everything that had happened. Start fresh?'_ _– Pyrrha._

He hit the delete button and put his scroll back in his pocket. He had no interest in even replying to her and the fact that she knew he was going to Beacon University made him feel a little unsettled. She probably just assumed since everyone else was going there.

The thought of actually forgiving her and starting over made him want to vomit.

He was done forgiving and just wanted to move on to forgetting.

Pyrrha wasn't even the worst of them.

But not the best ether. A certain night during junior year came to mind, but he tried to ignore it.

The fact he was stuck here with them…It was tempting to consider suicide again but he wouldn't let himself think that way. Not anymore.

' _Alice wouldn't want that.'_

Alice was his twin and one of several sisters.

Well, she had been until a terrorist thug had saw fit to blow her brains out during an armed robbery.

Jaune had always known that her act for always helping people no matter the case would get her killed and it did.

The bastard was caught shortly after. His affiliation was easy to find out given the white and red armor he wore with a red wolf with claw marks on the back.

Jaune swore if he ever got his hands on any other member of the White Fang he would kill them. Slowly. Painfully. So sadistically, that it would make death row in an Atlesian prison look like a trip to candy mountain.

He would probably end up there himself, but at least justice would have been served.

However, he was able to question the guy himself due to his family connections to a cop who he knew well. He had found out something rather interesting about an old enemy of his.

It wasn't hard for him to connect all the dots and put everything in place. All he had to do now was whisper the right words into the right ears and her life would take a turn for the worst.

Being a member of the White Fang was a serious crime and that included those who left the organization.

Then there was the fact about his mother being seriously ill. She had contracted a rare disease with her lungs. Fortunately, a new hospital in Atlas had the advanced technology needed to keep her alive. Even if only temporarily.

There was a cure, but is being incredibly expensive. This was part of the reason he had wanted to stay working so he could help contribute to the costs.

His father had a good steady job that the costs would be covered within the year, but Jaune wanted to help get it sooner.

He supposed in the meantime, since he was here he would just keep his head down and try to make his parents proud. To give his mom some more good news when she was out the hospital.

He decided not to waste any more time and find the room, he would be spending the next year in. Thankfully, he wasn't stuck with a roommate and had the whole room to himself.

Ignoring various groups of students talking among themselves he made his way to the large dormitory.

* * *

Pyrrha sat alone in the campus library. She stared out the large window that offered a great view of the rest of the campus.

The library itself was huge and stretched up three floors. Dozens of book shelves were scattered on each floor. They were neatly organized by genre and in alphabetical order.

She was currently sitting on the third floor in hopes of finding an area to herself.

Despite the fact that classes didn't start until tomorrow the library was incredibly busy with students exploring, comparing class schedules with friends or just enjoying a good read.

Her attention turned to her scroll beside her as it vibrated. Excitement soon turned to disappointment when she saw it was Weiss, who had texted her and not the person she was hoping for.

She opened the message with disinterest.

" _You're going to Yang's party, tonight right?"_ _– Weiss._

She typed a short response indicating that she was.

"Pyrrha?"

She looked up from the table to see a couple of old friends she hadn't seen since high school graduation.

She got up and greeted them.

"Ren, Nora, it's been awhile!"

The three exchanged hugs before they found seats around her table and sat down.

"Studying already?" Ren asked in an impressed voice.

Pyrrha gave a small chuckle before denying the claim.

"No I was just killing time here. That's all."

Her two friends nodded in understanding.

"So, did you get invited to Yang's party too?" Nora inquired. Her orange hair seemed to move on bit on its own as excitement seemed to fill her. She was always so excited about these types of things.

"Yes, Nora I am going."

She tried to hide the disdain in her voice.

Pyrrha didn't mind party's but they were never her favorite thing ether. Especially after what had happened junior year in high school.

Sure, it was a bet from Yang and she had may have had a little too much to drink that night, but what she did to Jaune still filled her with regret.

"So, what classes do you have?"

She was thankful for Ren getting the subject off party's.

Ren was always great at reading and defusing a situation.

She opened a tab in her scroll and slid the device over to the duo. She hoped they would share some classes.

While she did so she noticed, there were no new messages in her inbox ether. Her hope of getting back in touch with Jaune was sinking. She didn't really blame him though.

Outside the sun was setting along with her hopes of rekindling an old friendship.

* * *

Jaune had finally found his room.

He was just glad he had remembered the right room number.

' _Room 666'_

Jaune wasn't one for superstition, but the number still made him feel a little uneasy. He supposed in a school that had almost a thousand on campus dorm rooms someone had to be the unlucky bastard.

He was just tired of it always being him.

The dorm hall itself was surprisingly empty and quiet. As he looked down the long but wide hall that almost seemed to stretch on forever, it made his sense of uneasiness grow.

He had maybe watched one too many scary movies in his lifetime.

As he started to fumble for the key to get into the room a voice caught him off guard.

"Jaune?"

He recognized that soft voice.

He slowly turned to face Ruby.

Ruby was one his worst enemy's cousin. Being related to Yang caused to Jaune to want to distance himself from her. While Ruby she didn't normally join in the bullying she did little to stop it.

He just found it best to steer clear of this girl. Yet fate wouldn't let it be so easy. He was forced to do a few class projects with her in high school. Much to his surprise Ruby didn't make him do all the work, but he was still just as glad when he wasn't forced to work with her.

"Oh…Hey Ruby." He regarded her weakly.

The girl seemed to shift uncomfortably under his gaze.

' _Why is she the one who's nervous?'_

"So, it looks like we're neighbors. My room is right across from yours." She said with a small smile.

' _Just fucking great.'_

He had thought with the place being so big that his chances were pretty good of not seeing anyone he knew, but it looked like that didn't seem to matter anymore.

As he gave Ruby a casual glance he noticed she really hadn't changed much since the last time he saw her.

She was still a few inched shorter then him and had the same hair style with red highlights in her black hair. She was almost paler than even he was.

Her silver eyes stared into his blue ones.

If he was to describe the rest of her attire in one word it would be goth. She wore a surprisingly good mix of black and red and made it look good. He could see why some guys might be into her, but she still wasn't his cup of tea.

In fact, the more time he spent around her the more likely things would end up unpleasant for him. He needed to get away quickly.

"That's great." He replied, not caring if she picked up on the sarcasm or not.

Ruby had always been sort of a naïve girl from what he could tell.

She nodded to him not seemingly bothered.

"Yep. Also, Yang told me to invite you to her party she's throwing tonight. To celebrate getting into college and all that."

Jaune just shook his head. The only reason Yang would invite him to anything was because she was planning something that wouldn't end well for him. She must think him pretty stupid then.

He had learned that the hard way. Memories of junior year started to flood his brain.

"Sorry Ruby not interested. I have other things to do anyway, so you all have fun."

He turned his back on her and hurried to open the door before she could get another word in. He had wasted enough time already.

"Look Jaune I know you had some bad experiences, but Yang says she's sorr-"

He didn't bother to let her finish as he slammed the door on her.

The fact that she summed it up as just _"some bad experiences"_ served to infuriate him even more.

He was tired of it all. He wanted to be at his job working. He wanted to get the money he needed to get mom the treatment she needed so she could be out of that hospital. Instead, he was stuck in a place filled with people he would no doubt grow to hate even more.

The fact the one of those people was now roomed right across from him served to add salt to the wound. He figured with the way things were going he would have classes with them too. Maybe even paired up with one of them for a project or something.

He threw his backpack down on the floor in anger. He didn't care if anything broke at the time. The fact that things were just going to be the same as a high school all over again was consuming him now.

He knew this was already going to be a long year.

* * *

Ruby just stood outside his door in shock.

She hadn't expected him to slam the door on her like that.

She thought about knocking on his door, but decided against it. Her suspicions of him wanting nothing to do with her were conformed it seemed.

She remembered how she had always tried to reach out and get him to open up a bit in high school only for him to just push her away.

She came from a very different social standing, then he did that much she knew.

She was used to having lots of friends and being around people. She knew it was largely because of her cousin, but after almost five years she was sure she could consider these people her friends.

Jaune on the other hand, she knew, was alone for the most part. He always sat alone and never really payed attention to anyone or even tried to be social.

That kind of life just seemed lonely. She didn't want anyone to have to live that way. Now they were in college!

No parents and very little rules! This was the time to have friends now more than ever.

Jaune seemed like a nice guy even if he was a recluse. He never bothered or hurt anyone and was always polite.

Even if this attempt was an utter failure she wasn't going to give up on drawing Jaune out of his shell.

Ruby opened the door to her room and pulled out her scroll. She knew someone who was good with people and always seemed to get what she wanted from them. Perhaps she could convince Jaune to get out his dorm and come party with them.

* * *

Blake leaned back in her bed and relaxed for a moment.

The bed was really nice and yet took up very little space in her dorm. She had just finished unpacking and everything was just right.

She had also just gotten done talking to Ruby over the scroll. It was a short but rather interesting conversation.

Apparently, her old pal Jaune had made it to university himself. She supposed she shouldn't be too surprised considering all the homework she made him do during high school. She thought he did well out of motivation, but perhaps he really was smart.

Either way that wasn't even the most interesting part.

It seemed her naïve friend Ruby was trying to befriend him.

Ruby didn't know about all the shit she and the other pulled on Jaune over the years but that just made it all even funnier.

She had promised Ruby she would talk to Jaune and _"convince"_ him to change his mind and come to the party tonight. It wouldn't be too hard to keep blackmailing him after all.

She couldn't wait to watch him stew alone at the party.

It almost scared her how sadistic she could be at times, but almost didn't really mean anything to her.

Her old role model had rubbed off on her more than she thought it seemed.

* * *

Jaune sat on his bed reading one of the comic books he brought. It was most of what he brought along with clothes, school supplies and a toothbrush and comb.

The fact that he would be worried about anything actually breaking after he threw his bag was laughable.

His left hand stroked his chin and he felt a short fuzz there. He supposed before long he would need to get something to shave with since he likes to keep it nice and short.

His attention moved away from his comic and his mood soured further when he heard a knock on the door.

' _Is Ruby back already?'_

It didn't take long for him to get up and make his way to the door. He didn't think before opening it and saw the person standing there was far worse than Ruby.

Blake….

"Well Jaune I didn't expect to actually see you here. It's been far too long."

Jaune looked away not even bothering to look her in the eye.

"What do you want?" He asked irritated.

She flashed a cocky grin.

"What I want is for you to come to the party tonight. Ruby told me she told you about it and wants you to come. I told her I would talk to you."

' _Ruby…Of course she is behind this.'_

"And if I refuse to go?" He asked as if it was a challenge.

Blake's grin grew in size.

"I suppose certain secrets of yours might somehow find their way online."

Of course, it was blackmail. He knew she hadn't changed.

The dirt she had on him really wasn't anything major. Embarrassing, sure but now he had no hope of making friends anyway, so he wasn't going to waste more time worrying about. It also paled in comparison to the dirt he had Blake.

Blake didn't know that, of course, and that just added to the fun.

He originally wasn't going to reduce himself to her pathetic level but if she wanted a war then he had no problem crushing her.

Embarrassment versus criminal activity? It wasn't even a contest.

He wasn't going to play her game anymore. He had far more important things to worry about like his mother and his job.

He was done fucking around.

"Sorry Blake, but I have moved on from this childish game. Go ahead and spill the beans. You don't have power over me anymore and I am not going to that stupid party."

He was about to close the door when she stopped him.

"What do you mean!? You don't care if I tell the world everything?"

He shook his head.

"Nope. Not anymore, so go ahead. However, if you really want to play with fire I hope you know it's you who will be burned in the end."

"What do you mean by that?"

He smiled at her. "You will find out if you do expose my secrets. Now have a good day and stay out of my life."

He closed the door and locked before returning to his comic book. He was glad she didn't seem to try and argue with him any longer.

For now, at least.

However, that stupid bitch was going to get what was coming to her if she really wanted to play this game.

* * *

Weiss sat along in her dorm. She was writing in her journal about the day's events.

She found it calming and in a strange way it helped her take her mind of things.

Things like finding out her boyfriend Neptune had cheated on her and breaking up with him a few weeks ago.

She had fallen for him hard after her brief but pleasant time with Jaune.

She had left him for Neptune shortly after they started high school.

It wasn't that she didn't like Jaune, but Neptune was so much more charming and was definitely a lot hotter.

Now after the break up perhaps Jaune had what really mattered. Something Neptune didn't have.

Loyalty.

She supposed after all the things she and her friends did to Jaune afterwards trying to get together with him would be a futile effort.

Perhaps in the end she really was just a shallow girl.

Her beauty didn't excuse that and in the end, she would wind up as lonely as someone who wasn't very attractive.

It just seemed weird to her that she of all people would feel lonely.

However, in the end looks are not everything as she found out the hard way.

At least she still had her friends and she was really looking forward to tonight. Seeing Yang and the other at the party was going to be fun.

Her mind briefly returned to Jaune and she wondered if he was going to university too?

Perhaps she would talk to the others and see if they knew anything.

Jaune was smart she would give him that. It wouldn't surprise her all that much if he was here.

It would be interesting if she had a class or two with him.

Interesting if not awkward anyway.

* * *

Although calm on the outside Blake was panicking on the inside.

What could Jaune possibly have over her?

Was it all a bluff or did he really know something? Something that seemed to make him almost laugh at her attempt to force him into going to the party.

Was it an embarrassing picture? Maybe he had gotten into her diary?

No that was impossible.

An even worse fear started to eat at her. One that could make her lose everything.

Her scholarship, her right to attend the academy and even jail time.

Could he possibly know about her past White Fang affiliation?

That couldn't be possible. How could he?

Regardless, it was eating at her and she didn't like it at all. She needed to figure out a plan. A plan to find out what he really knows and if he did really have power over her.

Power was everything and she wasn't going to yield it to him.

She had never seen him so smug.

Still, it just had to be a bluff. There is no way he could have found anything out about her.

If she did expose his secrets she would see him humiliated, but then she would lose that power over him.

After having that power over him for so long she wasn't ready to lose it without a fight.

She needed to think of something else. Something that would make him submit to her.

She would figure it out even if it took her the rest of the day.

 **AN: Well, this was my first attempt at a college fic. Feel free to let me know what I did wrong so I can improve my writing or what I did right so I know what to keep doing. Either way, thanks for reading and I wish you a good day/night.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Welcome back to another chapter.**

 **Some have asked why I made some of the characters so unlikable and why this might be a college fic instead of a high school one.**

 **You should keep in mind most of the hate is coming from Jaune's point of view and how he feels. Thus, he is an unreliable narrator at times. The girls and guy (Ren.) May or may not have changed since then.**

 **Except for Blake so far…**

 **Also in my experience, anyway, I have seen a lot of high school fics in comparison to college and to be honest college make more sense for this sort of thing in my opinion. Since the characters are actually becoming adults now and living on their own, it allows for more growth and maturity since they have to stand on their own two feet for the most part.**

 **Plus, I just like college better.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter. I'm sorry this chapter is short I will make sure the next one is longer.**

 **Chapter 2: A Real Friend?**

Cinder had finished unpacking finally.

It had taken a lot longer than it should of because she had forgotten some of her stuff at her mothers house and had to make another trip back.

Plus, her boyfriend, Roman had promised to help her unpack, but like normal he had "forgotten."

She wouldn't be surprised if he was at Neo's apartment like last time. He seemed to spend more time with Neo than with her and she was starting to question why she was even in a relationship with the guy.

She was looking forward to college. She and her close friend Adam had taken a year off from school after graduation to get a job and save up some money. Things were still kind of tight, but they were still better off than if they had just jumped right in after high school.

Plus, their other friends were a year younger, so now that they waited a year they could all start college together.

Her scroll vibrated in her pocket twice before she pulled it out. She had hoped it was Roman explaining why he wasn't here, but she was disappointed.

Instead it was Adam telling her he had bought that new video game they both wanted play.

It was called "Fate."

It was a new online multiplayer first person shooter game about saving the world from aliens or something like that. It looked fun.

She sent him a reply asking him for his room number and that she would be over in a few minutes.

If Roman wasn't going to hang out with her then at least she had her old friend Adam. The two of them went way back and college wasn't going to change that.

Especially since they were going to the same college but the point was the same.

She quickly threw the rest of her clothes into a drawer before opening the small fridge that had come with the room. She pulled out a pizza box she had gotten while she was in town.

She knew this was going to be needed for tonight. It was a large meat lovers so she figured it would hold her and her friend over until the others came.

Her scroll vibrated with a new message.

" _It's room 669. Also bring snacks? I spent the last of my pay on this game so it better be worth it!" – Adam._

Cinder couldn't help but chuckle.

She sent him a quick reply letting him know she already had picked up a pizza while in town and would bring it over.

It was a good arrangement for both of them even if a bit strange.

He buying or renting the games and she supplying the snacks had always worked out in the past. It made game night a lot of fun for their little group.

More of their friends would be coming later tonight and would bring snacks on their own, so she doubted anyone would be hungry during their little video game party.

By the way things were going Roman and Neo were going to be a no show this time but Emerald and Mercury would meet up with them in about an hour.

Melanie and Miltia would be here soon but would have to leave before ten since they had work tonight.

The twins weren't actually students anyway, so sleeping most of the day wasn't really a problem for them if they had night shift.

She closed and locked her door before making the short trip to Adams room.

She paused just outside his room when she saw someone she thought she recognized. His blonde hair stood out to her and the only male blonde she knew of was a guy by the name of Jaune Arc.

If she remembered right Jaune was a year younger than her as well and she had only seen him around the high school just a few times.

The rumors she heard about him however was something different entirely.

Now she was never one to really trust the rumor mill or pay it much thought. She knew all too well simple stories could get blown way out of proportion and the drama that seemed to infect everything.

However, some parts were interesting if nothing else. One of the rumors of Jaune banging Pyrrha Nikos at a party was really interesting. Considering how Pyrrha was one of the most attractive and popular girls in school and Jaune wasn't really anything special. At least from what she saw of him anyway.

Other than that, she gave little thought of it however. It wasn't really fair to judge the guy when she didn't even know his side of the story.

Also, she liked guys who were nothing special anyway. They were more down to Remnant and fun to talk with.

She considered herself and her friends pretty average herself. If anything, the only thing "special" about them was their ability to stay up all night playing games or watching movies and then go to class the next day. They were really just nerds at heart.

As she saw Jaune walk by she gave him a smile and a small wave. The guy looked like he was having a rough day and showing someone a little bit of friendliness sometimes went a long way.

Even if she doubted the guy knew who she was.

* * *

Feeling hungry Jaune decided he would go check out the cafeteria. After encountering Blake one of his worst enemy's he wasn't really sure seeing anyone else would faze him at this point.

However, Yang and Pyrrha were two devils he really still hoped to avoid.

Perhaps devil was a strong word now but back then it fit perfectly.

Especially Pyrrha. It was infuriating how detached from reality she was. Did she really think they could possibly start over after all she did to him? After she stabbed him in the back?

After she…

No, he couldn't think about that now. He had come so far and finally starting to move on. He couldn't let it haunt him now.

As he locked the door, he made his way through the hallway. He looked around hoping not to see Ruby or anyone else for that matter and so far, the coast was clear.

That quickly changed however when he saw a girl with long black hair emerge from her room with what looked like a pizza box. She seemingly paused for a second to lock her room before she walked to another door just a few steps away.

He hadn't seen the girl before so to him it was just another random student.

As he got closer he noticed she was really attractive as well and that was definitely pizza she was holding. However, past experience had taught him not to ever get involved with attractive girls and he walked closer to the right of the hall in order to put more distance between them.

To his surprise, however the girl smiled and waved at him.

She didn't seem hostile or trying to trick him into something. Instead, she was just being friendly.

Perhaps he was overthinking it, but the gesture felt kind of nice. He was so used to people treating him like garbage or just being alone all together that just someone giving him a smile and a wave with no ill intentions behind it was refreshing.

It reminded him despite everything the world wasn't out to get him and there were decent, normal people out there just doing their best just like him.

It made him smile and wave back to her. He wasn't expecting it to go any further than that, but he enjoyed the short moment while it lasted before he would return to solitude.

Also, finding something to eat would be nice.

To his embarrassment his stomach agreed with him a bit too much on the idea of finding food as it let out a loud growl.

His face flushed red, slightly, but to his surprise the girl didn't look at him with disgust or any sort of negative connotation but instead giggled.

"Hungry as well?"

He fought the urge to look behind him. He knew that she was talking to him, but for some reason the reflex was there.

He nodded. "Yep."

Her smile deepened slightly as her amber eyes looked into his blue ones.

"Well we have plenty of pizza to go around for the time being. It will just be the three of us so your welcome to join in. I doubt he will mind."

He looked around slightly but only saw the two of them standing in the hall.

That in itself seemed rather odd given how many students attended the university. He was sure things would really pick up after tomorrow since that's when classes actually started.

The other odd thing was that this girl was actually inviting him for pizza.

"Who is the third?" He asked curiously.

The girl turned to face the door she stood in front of and knocked a few times.

"Adam. He is a close friend of mine and we were planning on playing some video games. Like I said you're welcome to join us if you got nothing better to do."

He wanted to accept her offer. This girl clearly didn't know him so she didn't have much to gain by attempting anything.

Or so he wanted to tell himself. However, the tempting offer of pizza was a bit too much to resist.

Just as he was about to accept her offer the door opened and he could see the outline of a tall guy dressed in black along with fiery red hair that really stood out.

"Yo Cinder. Welcome to my humble home that probably looks exactly like yours. Come on in."

Cinder chuckled a bit and pointed to Jaune.

"We might have a third person join us before the others arrive."

Adam poked his head outside of the door and looked at Jaune.

"Who is he?"

Cinder turned to look at him.

"A new friend I suppose. It's cool if he hangs with us, right?"

Adam shrugged. "I don't have a problem with it. I just hope he likes video games. Plus, he should be careful around the twins. They have a weird thing for blondes."

Cinder laughed. "More like a strange obsession. Those two really are crazy sometimes."

She turned back to Jaune.

"So, want to hang with us or not?"

Jaune felt a slight bit of hesitation creep up on him. He had originally planned to stick to himself, but these two seemed so different than the people he had known in the past. They were different in a good way and he decided to accept their offer.

"Sure. If you don't mind it sounds like fun."

Perhaps thing might actually be different this time. He might enjoy himself and actually make some real friends. He knew that's what his family would want for him.

He dared hope things would go well as he followed the duo into Adams room.

* * *

Yang hummed to herself as she finished setting everything up for her party tonight.

She looked at the time and noticed it was already six at night. Her friends would probably start showing up soon.

To say she was excited was an understatement. It had been almost a full three months since she had seen most of them and now they finally had a chance to catch up and have some fun together.

The fact that they were all going to college together was also pretty exciting. High school seemed to drag on forever and now she really felt more like an adult now that she was living out of home.

A few loud knocks on her door caused her to jump up and open the door.

As she opened it, she was excited to see her best friend Blake standing on the other side.

She looked cute as always with that nice black bow still on her head.

"Hey Blake! Come on in. How have you been?"

Blake smiled as she entered.

"I'm well. It's so nice to see you again. How have you been?"

She smirked. "I have been well myself. Just really excited to see you and the others again after so long."

Blake chuckled.

"Yeah, I feel the same way. Also, did you know Jaune is going to college here too?"

Jaune? Wow, that was an unwelcome blast from the past.

She wouldn't be surprised if the guy wanted to kill her after all the shit she had done to the poor guy.

She shook her head. "Not until you told me no."

Blake laughed.

"Yep and it would be kind of funny if he came to our party tonight."

Yang doubted it. The guy had no reason to be anywhere near her or most of the others for that matter. Especially Pyrrha.

She also didn't bother to ask how Blake knew if Jaune was here or not. She figured Blake had talked to Jaune and told him about the party.

She was pretty sure Jaune wasn't so happy talking to Blake ether.

"I'm pretty sure Jaune won't want to come anywhere near here." Yang reasoned.

Blake looked like she was about to respond but a few knocks on the door interrupted her.

Yang made her way to answer it. She opened the door surprised to see Ren and Nora standing there.

It wasn't too long before the others showed up and the party had started.

Not to her surprise Jaune hadn't showed up that night.

 **AN: Well, thanks for reading another chapter of this. Also, I don't plan on keeping everyone hanging on what Pyrrha could have possibly done to make Jaune hate her for too much longer.**

 **Thanks for reading again. Feedback and criticism are always welcome.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Beta: DragonManMax**

 **AN: Well another chapter of this. Fair warning the first part is a bit dark. Anyway enjoy.**

 **Chapter 3: Twins**

 _Jaune could smell the alcohol from her breath as she made her way closer to him. He was trapped with no way out. She had locked the door and he doubted he could get past her long enough to unlock it and make a break for it. He was trapped. Fate robbed what little say he had in what was about to happen._

 _He didn't feel fear however. He wouldn't give her that. The only thing he felt was hate. The desire to kill her. To rip that smug look off her face._

" _Stop being so stubborn about this Jaune. I know you want me just as much as I want you so let's make it happen." She stated as if it was such an obvious fact._

 _He scowled at her. His anger threatening to boil out. "Piss off! I don't want anything to do with you Pyrrha. Leave me alone."_

 _The redhead frowned. "Now that's not very nice. The fun is just getting started. "Her voice was in a teasing manner._

 _She unzipped her pants and pulled them off slowly. She stood perfectly between him and the doorway. Even if he could push her down and make it past her it would take him too long to undo the lock before she was upon him._

 _Despite how she looked he knew she was a lot stronger than he was. She seemed perfect at almost everything. Perfect grades. Perfect at sports. A perfect body. Any other guy would have been aroused at such an attractive girl taking off her pants and revealing her black panties._

 _He wasn't. He didn't care about her. He didn't care about his so called "friends." All he wanted was to be left alone. Why she seemed to obsess over a nobody like him was mind boggling. Now something even more precious than his time was going to be taken._

 _His fists clenched in anger. This wasn't fair, but that was the way life was. That didn't mean he was just going to lay down and take it without fighting back._

" _Just relax Jaune. I've wanted this for a long time and it's going to feel great." She teased as she closed the distance between them._

" _Do you not get what the concept of no means? Or is raping people how you get off?" He sneered bitterly._

 _Her frown deepened. "You know I try playing nice with you Jaune. Really, I do, but I'm getting tired of your smug ass attitude." She grabbed him forcefully as she straddled him._

 _He winced as her heavy alcoholic breath invaded his nose. "You know I don't want this. You know what you're doing is wrong, but you don't care do you. All you care about is yourself. That's all any of you care about." He spat on her face in anger._

 _She gave him a sinister smile as she wiped it off. Not bothering to respond to his words as she grabbed a beer bottle sitting on the dresser before the sound of glass being shattered was heard and pain shot through him and his vision went dark._

* * *

Jaune awoke when he felt someone poke his side gently. Embarrassment flooded through him as he realized he had fallen asleep in Adam's dorm room. He turned to see it was Cinder who had poked him and she had an amused look on her face.

"You okay Jaune? Long day or is just past your bed time?" She teased.

He looked at the time and noticed it wasn't even past eight yet. "Sorry I suppose I was more tired than I originally thought."

She smiled. "It's fine. The others should be here soon."

Adam handed him the controller and he blinked in surprise.

"Good luck. That raid boss is a bitch and I can't beat it." He remarked.

Jaune smiled. "Thanks. I'll see if I can beat on my first try."

He had never actually played the game before, but from what he saw when Adam and Cinder were playing was that it looked pretty fun. He experimented with the controls and tested each button before the raid started. In all honesty with the exception of him falling asleep, he was having fun.

It was nice. He hadn't really expected to make friends here, let alone so quickly. He just figured he would be dodging old enemies the entire time.

Speaking of enemies…

The raid boss was kicking his ass hard. Their healer was doing a poor job and despite all the damage he was pouring onto the boss he soon found himself out health.

"Shit…" He muttered before handing the controller to Cinder. She gave a confident smile as if this was a usual occurrence for her.

"Alright boys let me show you how the master does it." She smirked confidently and started to play.

Just then someone started knocking on the door.

"Adam. Door." She muttered. Buttons being pressed furiously as she attempted to shoot and evade the boss's wide area attack.

"I know." He stated as he got up and opened the door.

"Sorry we're late. My stupid sister here forgot her wallet so we had to turn around and go back before getting snacks." A female voice stated.

"It's alright. As long as you got snacks all is forgiven. However, why didn't you just pay for it with your money?" He asked, moving out of the way so the two girls could enter.

"Because then _I_ would have to pay for it. That would be lame." She stated with a smirk as they walked inside the room.

"You are such a cheap ass." Her sister complained.

The twins handed Adam two large packs of chips and a two liter bottle of soda. One of the twins was dressed in white, while the other was in a mix of red and black. The one in the white dress had long black hair while the one in red and shorter hair. Both were very pale much like Ruby.

They noticed him now for the first time as their eyes widened.

"Oh my God! You finally got a blonde friend!" The on in red exclaimed.

"Yes, dear sister. All of our dreams are now a reality." The one in white rolled her eyes sarcastically.

Cinder, who had yet to look away from the game as she had made it a lot further than he or Adam had despite their crappy healer introduced him. "Yes, this is our new friend Jaune."

He waved awkwardly at the two. He wasn't really sure what to say in these types of situations. "Hello." He muttered.

"Nice to meet you Jaune. I'm Melanie and this is my sister Miltia."

The twins sat next to him on the floor while Adam sat next to Cinder who was currently kicking the raid boss's ass. It really made him wonder if since it was the same character with the same equipment why the player still made so much of a difference.

"So Jaune I take it you're studying here too?" Miltia asked, leaning in a bit too close for his comfort zone. Her green eyes staring right through his blue ones.

He nodded. "Yep."

"Nice, so what are you going into?" Melanie asked, thankfully not as close as her twin.

"Well, I'm not sure yet since I still have all the basic required stuff to get through, but I was thinking of going into the medical field." He replied.

She nodded. "That's great. We could always use more doctors and such so I wish you the best." She stated politely.

"Thanks." He muttered with a smile.

He felt Miltia leaning into him slightly and from the look on her face it was intentional. He moved away slightly out of instinct. He hadn't been this close to a girl since… When he went to that party. Although he knew these girls were nothing like Pyrrha it still made him uncomfortable and he shivered slightly.

"Miltia stop scaring off our new friend." Melanie warned.

The twin in red frowned. "Aw, I didn't mean to. I just love those blue eyes and that blonde hair of his!" She smirked.

He sighed. "No, it's okay. We just met and I didn't want you to think I was seducing you Miltia." He lied with a smirk.

Although he had never really done it before he didn't mind flirting. These two seemed really friendly just like Cinder and Adam. He could thank his luck for meeting them, but at the same he supposed he needed to remember most people were pretty friendly if you got to know them. It was just the few bad apples he had to associate with in high school that can ruin the experience.

"Oh, Jaune I don't mind. Since you're going to become a doctor, perhaps you can practice with my body?" She teased seductively as she leaned a bit closer to him. She was showing him a generous amount of cleavage.

He blushed instantly. It wasn't that he didn't like it, but perhaps this was escalating a bit too fast for him.

"Should we show you where it hurts doctor?" Melanie joined in with a chuckle.

He leaned away from them a bit more. "Sorry girls but I wouldn't want to get sued since I'm not trained yet."

The twins looked at one another and giggled softly.

He really didn't get what was so funny until they told him.

"Oh, a virgin huh?" Miltia teased with a grin.

His eyes widened in shock while confusion rushed through him. They clearly read way too much into that.

"Um, that's not what I meant." He sighed.

Despite his protests, they just giggled some more. Still, he had to admit they had cute laughs.

"We know. We were just joking with you Jaune. You're so fun to tease." Melaine explained with a smile.

He sighed and the three finished watching Cinder beat the raid and the five of them took turns playing the game. He found out later two more were supposed to show up, but canceled last minute because something came up, but Cinder said she would introduce them some other time.

Having friends like this was really nice. He hadn't experienced anything like this back in high school so this felt new and refreshing. He almost felt normal. Almost…

The memories of his junior year flashed into his mind. That night with Pyrrha… It would haunt him forever that much he was sure. Shivers ran down his spine just thinking of it and he instinctively rubbed the top of his head where the bottle had smashed into it. Anger started to boil inside of him, but he shook it off. He wasn't going to let it ruin tonight.

He felt a soft hand touch his shoulder. It was Cinder and she had slightly concerned look on her face. Melaine was playing the game now with her sister and Adam cheering her on. It seemed they were close to beating another boss.

"Everything okay Jaune? You seem kind of out of it. I know the twins were giving you a hard time, but that just means they like you." She smiled.

He smiled back with a soft chuckle. "I'm fine, I was actually just thinking about high school, that's all. No, the twins didn't bother me at all. I like them too."

She nodded. "Glad to hear it. What were you thinking about involving high school?"

He shrugged. "Nothing much." He lied. "Nothing really worth mentioning."

She nodded once more and thankfully the topic was dropped. The duo, along with the rest of the gang continued to play games and eat snacks deep into the night. It was for the most part one of the best night he had in a very long time.

* * *

Jaune gave a soft sigh as he jumped into bed. The night had been amazing and he got four new scroll numbers to boot.

It was just after two in the morning and he had just gotten back from 'Adam's' Room. The twins left shortly before just after giving him their numbers and a flirty good bye.

Miltia had said he could call her at _any_ time for _anything_. And the way she said really tempted him to do so at some point. With a body like hers who wouldn't want to spend more time with her?

He and Cinder had left shortly later. He exchanged numbers with the two of them before he and Cinder left to their respective rooms.

' _So, this is what having friends is like? I could get used to this. Ruby was right… I was missing out. Perhaps I should apologize for being such an ass to her earlier? I mean she is just across the hall from me.'_

He didn't hate Ruby. Sure, she could be annoying and pest to him at times, but she always meant well. For the most part, she didn't really know about what the others did to him and that was the main reason she never did anything to stop it. Ruby was a lot of things, but she wasn't a bully or a malicious person. She was always kind to people and tried to be friendly with them. That included loners like him.

In fact, if she didn't hang around the other so much he wouldn't mind actually being friends with Ruby. She was almost the opposite of Yang and it was wonder how those two were even related at all.

His thoughts started to drift as sleep soon overtook him.

* * *

Weiss laid awake next to a sleeping Neptune. Regret was already making its way into her mind.

She knew part of it was drinking too much, but also seeing Neptune again had made her really eager. Hoping this time would be different and he wouldn't cheat on her with some other chick. A part of her doubted he would remain faithful and to be honest their session hasn't been all that great.

She felt more hollow than satisfied not to mention a bit cheap. It all made her think of Jaune again. She thought of him a lot more than she would ever admit.

During the time, she and Jaune were together they had never gone further than kissing. They were barely in high school at the time after all. Still, she couldn't help but wonder what would have happened had she stayed with him?

She truly did enjoy the time they used to spend together. The times when he would take for ice cream and they would walk through the park watching the sunset. The cuddles. She felt so much happier and complete back then.

He was always such a sweetheart. But once her hormones really started to kick in and she met Neptune shortly after she made the mistake of leaving him for someone better looking for her. A shallow, but not as surprising move as one might think.

Neptune was a sweet guy as well, but something about it just didn't feel as right as with Jaune. It felt less genuine and fake. Now she made the same mistake of sleeping with him again. This time, aside the sex was never bad, but although she had no one else to really compare too she knew it was wasn't great either.

Now it was pretty crappy. She couldn't place it, but it was definitely worse than it had been and she didn't know why. It seemed he put more effort into pleasing himself than her, but then again that always seemed to be the case.

It didn't matter now. What's done was done and she needed to move on. Perhaps from Neptune permanently and break this strange cycle she kept finding herself in. She wanted to find Jaune at tell him she was sorry for all the horrible things she did to him and that she was sorry for leaving him.

She doubted she could however.

Pyrrha had been trying to get in contact with Jaune all day, but he hadn't responded. Not that she blamed him. Even if she did find him, what could she possibly say? She doubted she could even work of the courage to put aside her pride and apologize.

She mentally cursed herself before rolling back over and pulled the covers over her body. Closing her eyes for one final attempt at sleep.

* * *

Cinder slipped into bed after checking her scroll one final time. Her boyfriend hadn't gotten back to her.

She sighed.

' _Asshole'_

Still the night had been a ton of fun. She had helped Adam get a ton of great new gear for their character they were sharing on his account plus they even made a new friend. Jaune seemed like a great guy even if he seemed a bit awkward at times.

It was a nice bonus now the twins would stop pestering her to find them a nice blonde toy to play with. At Jaune's expense now, but still it was a win for her.

She smiled as a small amount of excitement filled her. She couldn't wait to introduce him to Emerald and Mercury. Those three would get along great as well she was sure.

Sleep soon took her as she thought of all the fun plans they could do together.

 **AN: Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Beta: DragonManMax**

 **AN: Another chapter finally. Been busy almost all month, so writing has been slow. Hope you enjoy.**

 **Chapter 4: The Ex.**

Classes at Beacon had gone better than he had expected. Granted, today was only his first real day of class, but half of his classes were asshole free. There was one exception and that was in math class. It seemed fitting his worst class had something else to make it even worse.

Weiss was in his class. He supposed he had gotten lucky for the most part, since at least it wasn't Blake or Pyrrha. Not to mention it was only one class out of the two he had that day. With all the classes and students Beacon housed he supposed it was a stroke of misfortune, he had anyone he knew from high school in any of his classes at all.

He could only hope his next batch of classes that he will start tomorrow wouldn't have anyone he hated.

Weiss hadn't bothered him at all thankfully. She glanced at him a few times as if she was surprised he was there but that was it. He could handle glancing.

He made his way through Beacon's beautiful halls to the dorms. This school really was beautiful and he wasn't above standing around for a minute just to appreciate it. Whoever designed it did a very good job.

The halls were painted various bright colors, but at the same time it wasn't done in an overly suffocating way. The floor tiles were a pristine white and it all really tied together well.

Making his way back to his room he opened his door and threw his bag on his bed. He knew he still wanted to apologize to Ruby so he made the short trip across the hall and knocked on her door. He half expected her to be gone or at a class so he was a bit surprised when she actually answered.

"Oh, hello Jaune." She smiled at the door, but seemed surprised to see him. "How are things going for you?" She asked.

He shrugged. "Today is fine. I just wanted to say sorry about the other day. I was having a bad day and you didn't deserve me slamming the door on you like that. I get you were just trying to be friendly." He apologized.

She smiled. "Oh, it's fine. I mean it wasn't a big deal, but hope you're feeling better. I appreciate you coming to apologize."

He nodded. "It's fine. I'm not a dick all the time." He joked. "Anyway, have a good day." He turned to leave.

"Wait." She called out.

"What's up?" He asked, turning around.

"I know you weren't at Yang's party but did you have a good weekend?" She asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, I did actually. I made a few friends and we played some games together."

Her expression brightened. "That's great Jaune!"

"Yep." He muttered. "So how was your weekend? Have fun at the party?"

She smiled and blushed a bit. "Yeah, it was fun. I might have drunk a bit too much and made out with this guy named Oscar. I cut him off however when he started to touch my ass." She giggled.

Well, that was a bit more information than he really needed but it was his fault for asking he supposed.

He nodded. "Right…"

She continued. "Yeah, I only made out with him because I was drunk, but I don't just let anyone in you know? I'm waiting for that perfect guy. My knight in shining armor."

He nodded again. "Yep. I'm sure you will find him someday."

Her expression fell a bit and she mumbled something, but he couldn't make it out.

He was about to leave when she stopped him once more.

"Hey, do you want to hang out some night? I mean we are neighbors after all."

He had never actually hung out with Ruby before back in high school. But she really wasn't that bad of a girl and now that they were literally across the hall from one another he had even less excuse to say no.

Her expression lit up again. "Great! Um, just knock on my door whenever you want. Also…" She fumbled through a bag she had with her for a piece of paper and quickly wrote something down. "Here is my number so call me whenever." She smiled.

"Sure." He replied.

"Also, Pyrrha asked about you at the party and wondered if any of us had seen you?" She added.

His heart sank.

"What did you tell her?" He asked, dreading the answer.

"I told her I saw you around, but didn't say more than that." Her expression hardened a bit. "I know you two have a shaky past, so I figure if you wanted to reconnect with her you would on your terms. It wasn't my place to say anything else." She explained.

He sighed in relief. At least Pyrrha didn't know his room number then. He was grateful Ruby was that considerate.

"I see. Thanks Ruby. I appreciate you being discreet." He smiled.

She nodded. "What ever happened between you two anyway?" She asked.

He looked away. "I don't want to talk about it." He muttered.

She frowned, but nodded in understanding. "Alright. If you ever want to talk I'm just across the hall." She stated.

He nodded. "Thanks. I have to go Ruby. I have to be to work soon."

' _So much for relaxing beforehand.'_

He was hoping to take it easy before work, but now he was stuck having a moment with Ruby. He just wanted to apologize for being an ass, but now he has bonded with her? What the Hell?

Perhaps having friends now was changing him. He wanted to have more and since Ruby was his neighbor and never really did anything horrible he might as well give her a chance.

She nodded. "Alright. See you later Jaune." She waved goodbye and disappeared back into her room.

He sighed a bit as he watched her go. Still ready for a late night's work. Money wasn't free after all.

* * *

Ruby smiled as she closed the door. She felt so happy.

Normally Jaune and her didn't have the chance to talk this much. This was the longest they talked in a very long time and now he had her number. Being neighbors made things so easy.

Okay, so perhaps she had the slightest crush on him since the start of high school. Was that so wrong? Isn't it normal to fall for such a kind and handsome guy? He was the nicest guy she had ever met. He was always so willing to help Blake with her homework and put up with Yang's practical jokes.

Although some of them seemed a bit too mean, but she was sure Yang didn't mean any harm in it. Still, she had seen Jaune pretty upset at some of them and she tried talking to Yang and asking her to tone it down a bit. Yang just brushed her off and said it was all in good fun.

She also felt a bit embarrassed telling him about Oscar, but she supposed she should have thought about that before giving him such information. Hopefully he knew she didn't like that guy at all and just was a bit drunk.

Yeah, she had made that clear. Everything was fine.

Her mind started to race with all the possible things they could do the next time he came over. They could play some video games or compare manga or even exchange comics? Yang never did that stuff with her because she thought it was too nerdy with the exception of the video game part.

' _Does Jaune still have his trading cards and comics?'_

She would have to ask him that next time.

She nearly jumped in surprise when she heard a someone knock loudly on her door.

' _Was Jaune back already?'_

She opened was surprised when Oscar was at the door. Her heart sank a bit. This was not the person she wanted to be here right now. Or ever… Something about him was off-putting, especially now that she was sober and she didn't like it one bit.

Oscar was rubbing his hand slightly from knocking on her hard wood door. "Hey Ruby." He smiled.

"Hey Oscar." She said politely with a bit of nervousness.

She did, but not with him. She was hoping not to ever see him again to be honest.

"So, do you have plans tonight?" Oscar asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, I do. I'm hanging out with my sister later." She lied.

He nodded. "Alright. Catch you later." He smirked. He leaned into her surprise and kissed her.

She blushed heavily and pulled back.

"Later, babe." He called back.

She closed the door.

' _Does he think we are dating now or something!?'_

She supposed it was her fault for not making it clear to him she had no real interest in him. It was a one time thing while under the influence.

She would make it clear next time she saw him.

* * *

Jaune finished washing the last of the dishes for the night. Working at a restaurant at night was normally pretty hectic, but tonight was lighter load than normal. He was thankful and put everything away before hanging up his apron for the night.

He walked out of the kitchen and waved goodbye to his boss. His boss was actually a pretty nice guy compared to some people's bosses' and waved back.

"Have a good night Jaune."

"You too sir!" He smiled as he exited the restaurant.

His smile soon vanished when he noticed someone who appeared to be standing outside waiting for him. Her white hair wasn't in a ponytail this time, but instead was let loose across her back.

Her blue eyes met his when she noticed him. She walked over to him softly. She had been waiting just around the corner of the building. It seemed a little odd to be honest.

"Hey Jaune…" She said softly. She looked down as she said his name.

The air almost seemed to turn colder. The night sky was cloudy and rain could start falling at any given moment.

"Need something?" He asked, not bothering to hide the disdain in his voice.

"Well, I just wanted to say hi. One of your coworkers told me when your shift ended so I waited for a few minutes for you to finish. He must have thought I was your girlfriend." She chuckled softly.

He clenched his fists. So, she still remembered where he worked it seemed. That was one mistake of never changing jobs.

He turned to walk away right then and there. The way she sounded so casual about something light that after breaking his heart. It was nauseating.

"Please wait!" She called grabbing his arm lightly.

"What? I don't need you of all people coming to say _hi_." He seethed.

She backed away a bit. "I'm sorry. It's just after seeing you in class today... I wanted to find you when you might be alone." She admitted.

"Why?" He asked starting to get impatient. He was tired and not in the mood to deal with his bitch of an ex-girlfriend.

"To say I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all the shit I did to you. It was horrible! I know you might not believe me, but I changed over the summer." She stated.

He was a bit shocked, but then laughed out loud at her. "What are things going badly between you and your shining prince Neptune?" He sneered.

She seemed a bit shocked at that. "Well, I mean… That's not the point. Not all of it anyway… The point is I'm a more mature person now. I just wanted to say sorry." She mumbled.

He just shook his head. "Oh yeah? You're _sorry?_ " He teased. "What are you the most sorry for? I get breaking up with me Weiss. Break ups are understandable, but what you did after that is what you should be sorry for."

His anger started to build as all the memories came back to them.

"Are you sorry for all the times you laughed when Neptune would trip me in the hallway? Or are you sorry for blaming me for the incident in Mr. Oz's class?" Her eyes widened as he continued. "Or are you sorry for stealing my scroll and flushing it down the toilet in the girl's bathroom?"

She looked down with guilt. "I'm sorry for all that! I really am! I don't know what got into me once high school started. I suppose it was the hormones and my desire to want to be popular. You seemed like such a loser at the time, then I knew I couldn't be stuck with you, but now I see how wrong I was. I'm really sorry Jaune!"

He just looked away with disgust.

"Weiss did you know I was late for my sister's funeral?"

Her eyes winded. "What do you mean?" She asked surprised.

"The day you and Yang though it would be funny to shove me in my locker after school. After most people were gone. The janitor didn't find me until an hour later! That was the day my sister was being laid to rest and I was fucking late! All because of you guys!"

He lost it.

"For whatever reason, you decide to make my life a living hell and shove me in a locker I was late to my dead sister's funeral! My family was pissed to top it off!" He turned away to fight the temptation to hit her.

He gasped and covered her mouth with her hand before responding. "Jaune…I'm so sorry. We didn't know! I-" She started before he cut her off.

"I don't give a fuck Weiss! You thank being sorry means anything to me at this point? If you do, you're delusional as fuck! If you're really sorry then just leave me alone!" He shouted.

She cowered back a bit. "Jaune I'm so sorry." Tears started to run down her eyes mixed with the now pouring rain.

"I don't care. Just fuck off!" He said, turning away and heading home to get out of the rain and away from her.

She didn't call out to him. He didn't even look back. He just hurried back to Beacon's dorms as quickly as he could. Lucky his workplace wasn't far from the school so he could walk there.

He just walked and walked. What more could he do?

* * *

She watched him go. She didn't bother to call out or try to waist any more of his time. Weiss knew she didn't have that right. She couldn't tell if it was her tears or the rain that made her face so wet. It didn't matter. She just felt so cold now. Her clothes and light jacket were already soaked and the rain showed no signs of letting up.

Despite this she just stood there watching him walk away. She wasn't sure how long she stood there. A few minutes? A half hour? Who knew? She felt soaked to the bone at this point and decided to hurry back to the dorms herself. She also didn't want him to think she was following her.

It didn't take all that long to make it back to her room where she closed the door and the locked it. Soft sobs still escaped her lips. She never knew how much it all had affected his life.

' _Late to his dead sister's funeral…'_

She felt sick just thinking about. How much of a monster was she? How horrible were _they_? She remembered how she took such enjoyment in all the things they did to him. All the things she did to him. Why? Why did she become such a horrendous person? When did it all start?

Shortly after she started dating Neptune. She saw how he treated Jaune and wanted to join in on it. She wanted to feel cool and accepted by her new boyfriend and his friends.

She had become so sadistic and now she just felt dirty on the inside. Like she wanted to take a long shower.

Instead, she laid in bed and cried. How foolish of her to think she could just casually go up to him an apologize after all she did. He wanted nothing to do with her now and she didn't blame him.

Now she would do the best thing she could do. She wouldn't bother him again.

* * *

Jaune finished changing into his sleepwear and climbed into bed. He was far too tired to think about what had just happened despite how mad he had been. Part of him wondered if the rain had helped with that.

Unlike with Ruby he didn't feel even a bit guilty with how he reacted to Weiss. The bitch deserved every bit of it as far as he was concerned. If Neptune showed up later to try and beat his ass, he wouldn't think twice about dropping him!

He wasn't normally a big fan of violence under any circumstances, but tonight had taken a sour turn and he wasn't above going back on his morals.

He felt his scroll vibrate and sighed softly in annoyance. After pulling it out, however his frown soon turned into a smile.

It was a text from Militia.

" _Hey, I know it's like super late, but I figured you're up gaming or something anyway. You should be studying you big nerd! Jk. Anyway, I'm bored and my sister is asleep. Can we talk?"_ _\- Miltia._

He smiled and typed a response. _"Yeah, I'm still up. Just got back from work actually. Don't you two work late at that club?"- Jaune._

It took less than a minute to get a reply from her.

" _We just got done too. However, my sister drank too much and kind of passed out on me. Lol."_ _\- Miltia._

He did laugh a bit and wasn't really all that surprised. He started to type back.

" _Well, I'm going to bed too. Sorry, but I just had a run in with my ex and I don't really feel like talking anyway."- Jaune._

" _Aww! I'm sorry. Well, I'll let you sleep then. But call me if you need me to beat that bitch's ass. I'll do it too!"-_ _Miltia._

He smiled. That meant a lot actually.

" _I appreciate the offer, but I'm hoping she will just leave me alone. Have a good night Miltia." - Jaune._

His scroll vibrated one last time that night.

" _Good night Jaune. Hope things go better for you tomorrow. Sweet dreams ;)" - Miltia._

He smiled and put his scroll away for the night and crawled into bed. It felt nice having someone who seemed to care so much. He was going to have to visit the twins during their shift some night. Perhaps they would even get him free drinks?

* * *

Adam settled into bed after some late-night gaming. Classes had gone well, even if kind of boring. But that was school life for you. Useful but not the most glamorous.

It sucked not having any of his friends in his classes. Not even his new buddy Jaune. However, he did make a new friend in science class. She was a total babe and a faunus like him. Her cat ears were pretty cute and she went by the name Blake.

They had even exchanged numbers already. Perhaps he would invite her over next time they hung out and played games. She was a pretty quiet girl for the most part, but when she became lab partners with him it gave him the perfect excuse to talk with her.

He heard a buzzing sound on his desk.

' _Shit. Just after I had gotten comfortable.'_

He cursed himself again for making the mistake of leaving his scroll on his desk. Or not silencing it.

Picking up, he noticed a message from Cinder.

" _Tomorrow morning, go grab Jaune. We are going to get breakfast together and I was thinking of taking him to that new place where Mercury and Emerald work. Meet at like 10:00 okay? Thanks bud! :)"_ _\- Cinder._

Adam sighed, wondering why she couldn't just do it?

' _Oh, right. Cinder is the evil genius and I'm one of the henchmen.'_

Or so she always says.

It made him shiver to think if in some parallel universe that was actually the case and he was helping her take over the world or something like that.

After sending her a quick text stating he would do it, he crawled back into bed and this time silenced his scroll with the exception of his alarm.

It had been a week's since he last had time to see Emerald and Mercury so it will be nice to see how they were doing. Last, he heard they were doing pretty well together so that was good.

He soon drifted asleep thinking about food and friends.

 **AN: Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**So even though I said I was out of my rut in another story, it still almost took me a month to post something. Sorry I've been so busy. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

 **Beta: DragonManMax**

 **Chapter 5:**

Jaune groaned as he heard a loud knocking on his door. Coincidentally, he was in the process of over sleeping since his alarm had made no noise on the account of being muted last night. He had forgotten he would need an alarm to wake up on time and was more concerned with not getting any late-night texts that would wake him up.

He considered himself a light sleeper more than anything so the loud knocking on his door definitely got a reaction from him, if not a good one.

Getting up reluctantly he made his way over to the door. "Who is it?" He called out sluggishly.

"It's Adam and I needed you to have gotten ready like five minutes ago. We're late."

Surprise shot through him. "Late for what? My first class doesn't start for another two hours."

"Yeah, but Cinder wants us to meet for breakfast. Plus, there are a few people she wants you to meet." He explained from the other side of the door.

He sighed and opened the door to find a fully dressed Adam waiting for him.

"Can I at least shower first?"

Adam shook his head. "No. We got to leave in like two minutes if we want to make it in time."

He sighed again. "Why didn't you tell me sooner then?"

Adam shrugged with an amused smirk. " _I_ wanted to sleep more."

Somehow, he felt like he should have known the answer to that question. Also, had he not muted his scroll, then he would have woken up on time anyway. Which would have been an hour ago. He wasn't a morning person, but he liked to get the painful process of waking up over with early so he was ready to go by the time he needed to get ready for the day.

"Alright, I'll get dressed so give me a minute." He closed the door and hurriedly changed before opening the door again. "I'm ready…"

The redheaded faunus nodded. "Cool. Sorry being out of the way with this, but Cinder is rather stubborn at times. If I didn't drag you along she wouldn't be happy and when she isn't happy… Bad things happen to good people Jaune."

He shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah?"

"Yes." Adam responded. "I'll have you know I'm a great person so who knows what she would do to me."

"Perhaps steal one of your video games?"

Adam shivered. "That's worse than death…"

The two looked at one another before chuckling. He supposed breakfast with friends wasn't the worst way to start the morning. He could always shower and finish getting ready once he got back to campus.

He followed Adam to the school's large parking lot. It was filled with all types of vehicles. As they approached a large red jeep he couldn't help but let out a whistle. "Damn that looks awesome. Where did you get it?"

Adam smirked. "I bought it from my old man. He was getting a new truck and passed the jeep down to me for a decent price."

Adam unlocked the doors and they both climbed into their respective seats.

"I wonder what Cinder drives…"

Adam started the jeep and turned to him. "She drives a red truck."

Jaune nodded. He wasn't too surprised other than he expected a sports car or something.

"I see. You and here both love the color red huh?" He remarked as the jeep pulled out of the parking lot and into the busy highway leading into town.

They could have taken an airship maybe, but there was something about riding on the ground and not throwing up form airsickness that really made it worthwhile. Plus, he got the feeling Adam loved to drive this beautiful jeep and he didn't blame him.

"Jaune red is the best color for anything. And I'm not just saying that because of my hair."

He chuckled.

* * *

Cinder tapped her fingers impatiently as she waited for her two friends to arrive. Sure, she had gotten to the restaurant a bit earlier, but that was only because she was really hungry. Thinking back on it though that might not have been the best idea since now she could only watch other people eat. Being too polite to start without the others and all.

The restaurant itself was a cozy size. Not the largest but big enough that there was plenty of room despite how packed it was.

The doors jingled open and Cinder turned to see her two friends finally walk in.

Her two friends sat across from her.

"It's about time! I'm starving." She complained in an exaggerated manner.

"Sorry, but I value my sleep above all else." Adam stated as he crossed his arms. "It's only natural I'm going to wait for the last possible second. Hell, Jaune didn't even know about this until about five minutes before we left."

She gave a soft sigh and shook her head. "Jaune, I'm sorry about that. Next I'll just tell you myself if we do something."

"It's fine." He smiled. His features didn't seem too tired or groggy despite just waking up.

"Hey Cinder! Glad to see you and your minions could make it. Is blondie here your latest conscript?"

Mercury walked up to them. A pen and pad in hand, ready to take their orders along with an apron on to suggest he just finished work in the kitchen.

"Yeah, he is!" She patted Jaune's head despite the confused look on his face. "I was here alone for almost ten minutes and you didn't wait on me." She gave a mock frown.

Mercury gave a wide grin. "Sorry I was busy helping Emerald clean up. One of the rookies spelled something and made a huge mess in the kitchen." He shrugged and looked at Jaune. "The name's Mercury. Nice to meet you." He extended his hand.

Jaune took it a bit hesitantly. "Nice to meet you too. I'm Jaune, but I take it Cinder already told you about me?"

"Yep. Also told me you were getting awfully cozy with the twins." He grinned. "Lucky bastard. I wish I was born blonde."

Jaune looked away as his face redden. "No, I'm just being polite since they seem pretty nice too."

She smirked, knowing poor Jaune was never going to stop being teased about them.

* * *

Ruby had awoken early that morning for a morning class. Having rushed to get ready, she hadn't eaten yet so as soon as class was over she decided to head into Vale and grab some breakfast.

Thankfully she hadn't seen Oscar since he kissed her the other day but that was also counterproductive since she wanted to straighten things out with him.

The streets and sidewalks were fairly sparse in population with the exception of parked cars. No doubt most people were at home or at work. It was nothing like Vale's night life.

She found it refreshing.

Stopping outside a large diner she decided to stop in.

The place was packed but had some open seats.

Her eyes widened in recognition of a familiar blonde. He was sitting next to a group of people she had never seen before while seemingly chatting away with the waiter who had a silvery grey hair style.

Jaune seemed to notice her and waved at her. She gave a wave back and this seemed to make the others notice her presence as well.

A girl with long beautiful black hair smiled at her and beckoned her to join them.

She did, despite how awkward she felt. She took the empty chair next to the black-haired girl and sat down.

"You are just so adorable!" The girl exclaimed before turning to Jaune. "How do you know her!? Is she your girlfriend or something?"

Ruby and Jaune both blushed.

"No! She is just a friend of mine that's all." Jaune explained.

"So that mean's she's available?" The waiter asked much to her surprise.

"Mercury…Don't." The red headed faunus warned.

"Anyway!" Jaune interrupted. "This is Cinder, Mercury, and Adam." He pointed to each person in question. "Everyone this is my friend Ruby. We have known one another since high school."

Ruby herself just smiled and waved. Her mind still trying to process everything that was going on so quickly. The last thing she expected when she came in was to find Jaune with another group of people like this.

They all seemed friendly enough. Especially this Cinder girl. She had never heard anyone call her adorable other than Yang. It seemed a bit strange.

"Well at least I don't have to break Miltia's heart then" Cinder smirked.

Ruby looked at Jaune. "Who's Milita?"

Cinder's grin widened. "Milita is the twin sister of Melanie and both twins seem pretty fond of our blonde friend here."

Ruby did her best to ignore that dark feeling rising in her chest. She wasn't the jealous type in the past and she wasn't going to start now.

Cinder pulled out her scroll and showed her a picture of the two. Both wore beautiful red and white dresses. The red one had shorter black hair while the white one had longer black hair. They were both very attractive and it became a bit harder not to feel a bit jealous.

Ruby did her best to smile. "I see. I'm glad you've made more friends Jaune."

He nodded, although he looked a bit weary.

"So, what can I get you all to eat?" Mercury offered.

* * *

Meeting Ruby here was the last thing Jaune expected to do. However, it wasn't as unlikely as he might have thought. This area of Vale was popular and was filled all kinds of different restaurants, so it wasn't uncommon to see classmates eating around here even back in high school.

This restaurant itself has only gotten busier since he arrived. Other waiters and waitresses struggled to keep up with the increasing flood of people.

Their waiter Mercury seemed like a cool guy and was apparently a good friend of Cinder and Adam. He had yet to meet their friend Emerald but since she was working in the kitchen and the amount of customers increased he doubted he would today.

"So, do you normally come here?" Ruby asked the group as she sipped on her water.

"Every once in a while, myself." Adam answered first.

"I'll have to go with Adam on that one." Cinder remarked. "Their food is pretty damn good though, but with how busy it gets it's kind of a pain. That's why I wanted us to get here early."

"This is my first time." Jaune admitted.

Ruby's silver eyes looked his direction again. "Well, if you like it, then we could come back together sometime." She smiled. "I have been here a few times before and I'm pretty fond of it myself."

He nodded back lazily as he sipped on his drink. "Doesn't sound like a bad idea."

"Aww you two are just so cute together!" Cinder gushed to his embarrassment. Ruby's face turned red as well.

"I think they just seem kind of awkward" Adam admitted with a shrug.

"Oh, hush Adam don't ruin the moment. It's part of what makes them so cute."

Jaune shook his head and covered his face. "Ruby I'm sorry for Cinder. I promise she isn't always like this."

Ruby looked down with a shrug as her face was still red. "It's okay. Yang's kind of the same way at times. It's why I never like to talk to her about boys."

Cinder raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you know Yang Xiao Long?"

Ruby nodded. "Yep! She's my cousin."

"I see."

"Why? Do you know her?" Ruby asked, leaning forward.

"Well, I know of her, but not her personally. She was a cheerleader and had a reputation to be a bit of a trouble maker." Cinder admitted. "I'm a year ahead of you though, so after I graduated, I'm not really sure if that changed senior year."

Trouble maker? That was a bit of an understatement to Jaune, but he wasn't going to say anything in front of Ruby.

Ruby smirked. "Yeah Yang was always something. Always pulling pranks or getting into trouble with a boy. Still, she means well and is pretty nice to anyone if they are nice back."

Jaune fought the urge to role his eyes.

"Jaune is actually good friends with her too." She turned to him. "Right? Although you don't seem to hang around as much anymore…"

Jaune looked away. "Um, yeah. I'm just busy a lot now and I have been making some new friends as you can see."

"Well I'm happy you're making new friends. Pyrrha even asked about you again this morning. She said you haven't been responding her texts."

He fought the anger that boiled in him.

' _That bitch bringing Ruby into this…'_

"Like I said. Busy…"

Ruby nodded, but didn't say anything more. Her features seemed uncertain.

"Oh? So, you do know Pyrrha Nikos?" Cinder probed him.

He nodded.

Cinder's eyes lit up. "Oh, interesting. I heard a wild rumor that you two were _together_ for a night? Is that true?"

He didn't respond. He didn't even want to give Pyrrha the gratification of talking about her even when she wasn't around.

"Cinder I think you're being a bit too personal there. I don't think he wants to talk about that." Adam warned. He gave Jaune a sympathetic glance.

"Yeah, I'd rather not." He agreed.

"Oh, sorry…"

"It's fine." He smiled.

Cinder looked uncertain, but nodded anyway.

A soft sigh escaped his lips. Just what he wanted to be. The friend who makes every conversation awkward.

"So Jaune how are your classes going so far?" Ruby asked changing the subject.

"Fine. How about you?"

She grinned excitedly. "They are going great! Plus, I even have Yang in one of my classes so I know someone."

Although he didn't share her enthusiasm he smiled back anyway. "That's great. It wouldn't kill you to open up and make some new friends though."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "That's ironic coming from you! You were such a loner in high school. I always had to come find you! I mean when you weren't hanging with Blake in the library or something. I almost thought you two had a thing, but Blake told me you were just being nice and helping her with homework."

"Yeah being nice…"

"You know her!?" Adam asked shocked.

Everyone turned to face the red headed faunus.

"Blake? Yeah, she is one of my best friends. Black hair and cat ears, right?" Ruby exclaimed.

Adam nodded. "I have a class with her and we hit it off pretty well."

This got Jaune's attention and he didn't like what he was hearing. Was she going to weasel her way back into his life through his friends? Acting all innocent and such? He wouldn't put it past her by any means and the thought of his new friends, getting caught up in his old life didn't sound appealing ether.

Since Adam didn't know he knew her until now then Blake must have been keeping that a secret for now or doesn't actually know he is friends with Adam and the two are actually getting along with genuine interest.

This was all too much for him.

' _I should have just gone to a nice medical school in Atlas'_

"That's sweet! We should all hang out sometime!" Ruby flashed an excited smile.

"I wouldn't mind." Cinder leaned back in her chair. "The more the better."

"Perhaps Ruby and Jaune could give me some tips with her? I definitely want to ask her out sometime." Adam mused.

Jaune could already tell what direction this was going to go. He was powerless to stop it and part of him wouldn't want to anyway. If they wanted to be friends then that was their right. He wasn't going to impede on that just because of his bad blood with her. However, he wasn't going to be around when she was either.

"Sure, I don't mind helping out" Ruby smirked. "Just ask away."

Adam gave a rare smile to his otherwise emotionless face. "Thanks Ruby!"

"How about we all hang out this Sunday?" Cinder suggested.

"Sure, I'm free then."

"As am I."

He shrugged. "Sure, I'll try to make it." He lied.

Cinder raised a brow. "Do you already have plans?"

"Sort of. I'll let know if I'm free or not closer in the week."

Cinder seemed to accept this. "Alright. I'll be sure to hit up the twins too. I'm sure they would love another excuse to see their favorite blonde."

Blushing a bit, he nodded. "Alright. I mean there are plenty of other blondes out there."

"True, but none is as dorky as you and they love that." Cinder winked. "At least that's what they told me anyway."

Jaune wasn't sure what to say to that so he just gave a nod. He needed to figure something out for Sunday, so he would have an excuse. He hated to blow off his friends, but there were some people in this world he couldn't stand to be around.

Also, was he really that dorky?

* * *

Melanie followed her sister Milita through the busy streets of Vale. The sun seemed brighter than normal, but they were by no means shut ins. The twins simply thrived in the night life and normally were asleep or too hung over to go during the day.

"Militia this is stupid. Why do we have to go now?"

"Because the library is closed at night. Duh!" Her red twin responded with an exaggerated eye roll.

"Be that as it may dear sister since when have you had any interest in going to the library of all places? Only nerds go there. Remember? You told me that yourself."

A soft sigh escaped the red twin's mouth.

"Well, maybe I was wrong? I want to see what types of medical books they have."

Melanie grabbed her sister by the shoulder and spun her to make her face her.

"You can't be serious!? Since when have you ever cared about that?" The older twin scowled.

"Well…" Milita looked up at the sky absently. "Ever since I found out Jaune wanted to be a doctor. I mean it wouldn't hurt to learn some of this stuff myself. Perhaps I could even become a doctor too? Or Jaune's nurse…"

"You can't be serious! Look Jaune a great guy and I'm crazy about his blonde hair almost as much as you but being a doctor? Do you know how much schooling that takes? We didn't even finish high school remember?"

It was true the twins had gotten lucky by getting to work for their uncle at a club. The two were never fond of even looking at books, let alone school. It took every effort just to barely finish middle school! They were made for fighting and partying not studying and learning.

Militia pulled away. "Yeah! I remember, but how long will this last? Are we going to be able to work at that club when we are old? We can't live off our fighting skills and good looks forever. It wouldn't kill us to at least get a basic degree under our belt in case we need another job someday!"

The older twin sighed. "Since when have you worried about that? Hell, with all the shady stuff we do on the side, I doubt we will die of old age dear sister. I don't get what has you acting this way. What's running through that thick skull of yours?"

Militia sighed. "When we visited Cinder at the Academy it made me think of what we were missing out on…I know the street life is all we know but our friends are moving on from that. Cinder even finished high school and after working a year started college. I want my life to mean more than just parties and kicking the asses of drunks. I want some meaning in my life."

"Little sis you sound like you're taking drugs again. I thought we killed that addiction months ago. No way you're thinking rationally."

"Oh, shut up Melanie! I'm not doing hard core drugs again. I'm serious. Just because we grew up from the street doesn't mean it has to be all we know. I know someday I want my kids to have a better life than we had. Besides, wouldn't it be fun to attend college with our friends?"

"Sure, but I don't think any university is going to accept a bunch of dropouts with minor criminal records. Do you? Do you really think it would be that easy?" her expression softened to her younger sister.

Miltia looked away. "No…I doubt it. But when Jaune told me about his dream it kind of motivated me. Lately everything doesn't seem as fun or fulfilling as it used too. I want dreams of my own and to chase them."

Melanie sighed as she let go of her sister. "Do you really want to become a doctor or is that just a desperate way to impress Jaune? I mean it wouldn't hurt to start lower. Like actually getting our diplomas for starters."

Militia shrugged. "Well connections help. We could just wait until June becomes a doctor and then, since he knows us then he could hire us. We could work under him and gain experience."

"I don't really think it's going to be that simple little sister. Despite how hot we would look in a nurse outfit. If this is something you really want to do, though then we need to look at how to finish school and get our diplomas first."

Militia turned away in disgust. "But high school sucked so bad!"

"I know Militia. Even if we didn't even finish freshman year. They have online programs we could check out? I suppose if you're really serious about this then I'll try it with you. I'm older and more responsible twin after all." Melanie smiled.

"Thanks Melanie. We could ask the others about this and see what they know. I doubt Junior really knows and it would be a good excuse to visit our friends back on campus."

Melanie nodded. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. Come on, let's head back home and I'll see what they are doing this weekend. Let's forget the library."

"Alright. Plus, if anyone see's us there they will think we become nerds or something anyway." Militia teased.

"I'll tell Jaune you said that next time we see him." Melanie grinned.

"You're so mean…" Militia whined.

* * *

Jaune smiled as the warm water shot onto him. The shower felt great.

Breakfast had been great as well. Although he hadn't actually got to meet Emerald yet he was sure he was going to next time.

Mercury seemed cool and Ruby seemed like she had a good time too despite her initial uncertainty. Still the food was good and he just had to make it through classes today and work tonight. He was used to this type of schedule after all.

After getting out of the bathroom and throwing his clothes he was about to get his books that he needed for the day ready before he heard a soft knock on his door.

Without thinking he opened it casually.

Vivid green eyes stared back at him. Her long red hair still pulled back into a pony tail. She smiled innocently at him as he felt his blood run cold and shock flow through him.

"P-Pyrrha?"

"Hello Jaune." Her smiled widened. "I'm happy to see you still remember me. I was hoping we could…catch up?"

 **Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Sorry it's been so long since I updated this. But I got one done finally.**

 **Beta:DragonManMax**

 **Chapter 6: The Bar**

"No, we cannot!"

The words came out so effortlessly. It was if those words were something he had wanted to say for a very long time but never did. At least not out loud. Just seeing her in person like this alone was enough to summon the memories into view.

His heart wasn't racing as fast as he might have expected and despite the fury a large part of him also felt… hands clenched tightly, curling into fists as he waited for Pyrrha to do something.. To say _something_.

Pyrrha's smile never left her lips as she took a step closer. Her eyes never leaving his as she moved through the doorway and now stood mere inches from him.

"Jaune…Why not? I know we haven't had the best past, but we can make this better. I can make _you_ better." The honey laced words came out ever so sweetly, as if she was just the most innocent girl on the planet.

"You know why. I'm not going to take a trip down memory lane with you. I wasn't a huge fan of yours before, but after _that_ happened I hate you. Surely, you're not as dumb as look right? Surely even you can understand that." He responded calmly. Despite the anger, not boiling his blood, he held it together.

Her smile grew slightly. "Oh Jaune…I'm so happy Blake was kind enough to share with me your dorm number. I have missed our conversations." She leaned in ever closer as if to kiss him but stopped. "It's what I love about you. You never showed interest in me…You were just that lone wolf who occasionally sat by Ruby. You and your golden hair, your beautiful eyes. I loved staring at you during class or during lunch someitmes."

' _Blake! Of course, it was her. That bitch…'_

He kept his cool though. He wasn't going to let her win by showing emotion and letting her get him riled up despite how hard it was.

"Is that supposed to make me like you?"

She shook her head. "No. It's supposed to make you understand." She grabbed his shoulder. "You were so different. So casual. So… _Intriguing_ to me. You have this aura I never experienced before and a lot of it. It pulls me in and makes me want you more."

He pushed her away. "Don't touch me. And aura? What are you even talking about? The only thing I understand is that you're out of your mind."

Pyrrha grabbed his shoulder again and this time a lot harder. "What I want you to understand is that you will always be my _partner_. I'm not letting you go again."

"I will never be your partner. I never was, and you should leave. I have things to do and they don't include dealing with you." He pulled away again. "I don't ever want to see you again. Thought you would understand that by now."

Pyrrha stood in front of the door and relaxed against the wall. "You're going to have to make me."

"No, he isn't."

A hand reached in from the doorway and pulled the girl out into the hall, making the redhead start to lose her temper. "Who are you!?"

"My name is Cinder, and the next time someone asks you to leave, you should just do it. Otherwise, you might get hurt."

Pyrrha however, didn't seem phased by the other girl's words. "Oh? Now you're making me curious. Just what are you to Jaune?"

"I'm just a friend." Cinder smiled and looked at the blond boy. "And I think you should get going Jaune. I don't want you to be late for your class."

The boy in question walked out of his room and closed the door. Making sure to lock it of course. "You're right. This isn't worth being late for."

"I'll see you after class too. Also, breakfast was fun, thanks for coming Jaune." Cinder waved.

Jaune half expected Pyrrha to try and stop him but instead she simply shrugged it off. Her confident smile soon returning to her beautiful face. Of course, her beauty was tarnished by her foulness.

"Well, we have a long year ahead of us. I'm sure we will have plenty of time to catch up." The redhead smiled before leaving.

Cinder watched her leave before following her blond friend. "Thanks, by the way. She is nothing if not persistent." He sighed.

"It's not a problem. I was passing by on the way to my room and noticed how unhappy you were around her. It didn't look like she would leave you alone otherwise. Any reason why?"

"Um, none that I can really remember. She always liked to mess with me back in high school and then junior year happened and… Something big happened. After that she didn't mess with me as much, but still did when she was around her other friends." He shrugged.

"I see. Well, what happened junior year? I wonder if Pyrrha has a break up grudge?" She mused.

"Well, I'm not sure if _she_ thinks we are dating but I can tell you we never did. That rumor isn't true… The two of us never willingly got together."

Cinder stopped walking and grabbed the blond by the hand. "Willingly? Jaune is there something deeper behind that? Or is the rumor completely untrue?"

She loosened her grip when she noticed how uneasy the subject made him. Feeling guilty for being so nosy she decided it was best to drop the subject. "I'm sorry…You don't need to answer that."

Thankfully, his smile soon returned. "It's fine. It's just we have only known one another for a few days now really. Perhaps when we know one another longer."

She matched his smile with one of her own. "Sure. Listen, I know we have hung out a lot recently in such short time but can we again tonight? I mean I kind of want to learn more about out you. It doesn't have to be anything too personal."

"Sure, that would be great since I wouldn't mind learning more about you as well. Have anything in mind for tonight?"

"I have the perfect place. You and the twins seem to get on really well, so I was thinking we could go to their club tonight. It's not super busy on school nights so I'm sure they would love to hang out for a bit too."

"Sounds good to me. Is Adam or anyone else coming?" The blond inquired.

"Um, I'm not sure. I'll ask and let you know. Also, your friend Ruby seems pretty sweet. You should see if she wants to come as well. I'd love to learn more about her too. I've never seen someone with silver eyes before."

Jaune pondered it for a moment. "Well, I suppose I could ask. I'm not really sure of her schedule for the most part, but I'll see what she says. Clubs aren't really her type of place though. Frankly, they aren't mine ether."

She giggled. "Don't worry Jaune. They have a great area by the bar we can hang out at. I won't ask you to dance ether, but I can't promise anything when it comes to the twins."

He cracked a grin of his own. "Alright…I'll take what I can get. Anyway, I better get to class this time. I'll see you later Cinder."

"Later Jauney boy." She teased.

The duo parted ways as they went to their various classes.

* * *

Weiss did her best to pay attention. She really did. When it came to her academics, she prioritized them as number one in her life. Often staying up late nights to finish large papers or getting ahead in homework assignments since she started high school years ago. She planned on doing the same with college, but this professor was making paying attention incredibly difficult.

Professor Oobleck. The man seemed to know his stuff about history or at least the parts she could understand. The man talked so incredibly fast she had given up on taking notes halfway through the start of class. She would just look up what she needed to know in her textbook she supposed.

"-And that class is what lead to the downfall of Mantle and replacement of the kingdom, into what we now know as Atlas." The professor finished just class was about to end.

Giving a soft sigh of relief, the white-haired girl packed up her stuff and go ready for her final class for the day.

Of course, she had an hour between her classes, so she decided to grab lunch first.

She found a nice spot next to the large window outlooking the rest of the campus. The cafeteria itself was large and spacious. Easily fitting the many students that lounged about eating and talking with their friends.

She, however sat alone.

"Hmm… This isn't so bad. It's peaceful, at least." She smiled despite how awkward she felt on the inside. It was natural she wasn't used to being by herself but most of her friends were in class or busy with other things.

Her scroll buzzed.

" _Hey Weiss! I got sometime between classes too. Want to have a quickie? ;)" – Neptune._

She rolled her eyes and thought about ignoring the text all together. It that's all Neptune wanted to do these days. He wasn't even that great…At least not anymore or so it seemed. But of course, it wouldn't be very nice of a girlfriend to completely ignore her boyfriend would it? She wouldn't want her boyfriend to ignore her after all.

" _Sorry, not in the mood. I'm eating lunch though in the cafeteria. You can join me if you want." – Weiss._

She started to eat her burger and it wasn't long until she got a response.

" _Um, sorry Weiss I already ate, but let me know if you want to hook up tonight then. We can make a date out of it." – Neptune._

A date? Normally that sounded fun, but she already had a feeling it would be rushed just to get to sex.

The again, what else did she have to do? She could see if anyone was free, but that didn't sound appetizing either.

She wanted to go on a date. She remembered the ones she went on with Jaune and then Neptune earlier in their relationship. She loved holding hands and just walking through a park or seeing a movie. It was typical cliché date things, but she enjoyed them greatly.

"Would I be having this problem with Jaune?" She mused.

She already knew the answer to that question, of course. Jaune and Neptune were very different guys and that had really shown in compression on her dates and just spending time with them in general.

"Not that I'll really know for sure now…"

She had been such a brat in high school and to an extent she knew she still was now.

"He doesn't want anything to do with me anyway… I don't blame him either." She sighed as she got up and dumped her paper tray.

She didn't want to bother with friends tonight, nor did she want a false date with her boyfriend. Perhaps a night alone on the town would do her some good? She could use a break from her stuffy dorm anyway.

* * *

Ruby smiled as her final class ended. Oscar wasn't in any of them ether so that was both good and bad.

She wanted to set things straight with him and hoped they could still be friends, but at the same time she was so awkward. She really didn't want to have to talk to him again, despite how guilty she felt about it.

"Arg! Why am I so weird?" She muttered to herself as she left the class and returned to her dorm.

Throwing her backpack on the bed, she went to her mini fridge and broke out a soda before someone knocked on her door.

Her chest tightened as she ignored her nervousness. "Please don't be Oscar. Please don't be Oscar. Please don't- "She opened to find her blond haired, blue-eyed friend standing in the doorway. "Oh Jaune! Hey!"

"Hey Ruby. Are you free tonight?"

Her heart skipped a beat.

"Yes! I'm free anytime. Do you want to come in? I have soda." She offered trying to contain her excitement.

"Um, no sorry. I actually have work for a few hours tonight, so it's going to be after. I was wondering if you wanted to meet up at Juniors? Cinder invited me, and she wanted you to come as well. I'm not sure who else will be there though."

She tried not to let her disappointment show. Her hopes of a cozy night in her dorm alone with him dashed. However, at least he was offering to hang out to begin with. That alone was a victory!

"Sure! What time?" She smiled.

"About eleven.?"

Kind of late for a school night, but she supposed it was still worth it. "Alright, that works. I'll see you then. Can't wait!"

"Cool. See you later Ruby." He smiled before leaving.

"Bye Jaune!" She waved before closing her door.

She decided to get her homework done and then hop in the shower before going out.

* * *

"Hey boss since it's probably going to be a slow night would it be okay if we sat with our friends? They are planning on coming here around eleven."

The man shrugged. "It's fine with me. But if trouble starts I'm going to need you to take a break from them and kick some ass."

"Sure, thing boss." Militia grinned.

"Heh, Militia just wants to show off for her new boy toy anyway" Melanie teased.

"Oh, shut up. You know I love getting the blood pumping. Fights are great for that."

"Hm… So are other things, but I suppose putting my heel up someone's ass does do the trick too."

"Hey, I need you two to finish getting the place ready. We open up in an hour." The man interrupted.

"Sure, thing boss."

He sighed. "Just call me Junior already."

"You got it boss."

Another sigh escaped his throat. They were lucky they were his nieces, or he would teach them a lesson or two in respect. And in the old criminal underworld that lesson didn't come cheap.

* * *

Jaune wasn't sure what to expect from Juniors but he soon realized it was bigger than he thought it would be. The place looked nice too. It was clean and spacious. Plenty placed in groups of people to mingle and drink or dance on their large dance floor. The music was loud, but didn't blow him out of the building. People could actually hear one another when they talked so that was a bonus.

His eyes glanced around the place once more until he saw the area by the bar where he and the rest of the group decided to meet. No one besides Cinder and Ruby was coming it seemed so the small area would work nicely.

However, as he closed in on the bar, he recognized someone. It was about the last person he expected to see at a place like this. She wore a short black dress that really helped her white hair stand out matching black heels decorated her feet.

"Weiss?" He muttered in disbelief. His mind soon racing as to what to do.

He didn't feel the same anger he had felt the other night. Not when she so casually had the nerve to go to where he worked and apologize so casually about everything she did. Instead, she was just another customer like him and that was fine. He would just avoid her

' _She does look really good in that outfit though.'_

He shook off the unsavory thoughts as he sat at the small table next to the bar. Pushing back the awkwardness of sitting alone a few feet from someone you wanted nothing to do with however wasn't easy. Also, once they got here Ruby would not doubt recognize her and invite her to join. He wasn't really sure how that was going to go.

"Oh my God! Look who finally decided to visit our domain!"

Jaune felt someone wrap their arms around him. He turned to see it was Militia and behind her was Melanie.

"Hey, you two. Long time no see." He smiled. Militia's hug certainly helped his mood.

"What's up blondie?" Melanie grinned poking his side. "The boss says we can hang out with you, but if there is trouble we have to step in."

"Oh well I hope nothing will happen."

"I don't!" Militia smiled. "I want to show off my moves."

"Figures. You two never change." A third voice added. Her long black hair caught the eyes of many men as she walked toward them and sat down. "Don't go molesting Jaune without me now."

Militia rolled her eyes. "Oh please. We only do that on Fridays."

"Could you please stop that?" Jaune begged as he pushed the girl in red off.

"Aw…I suppose we just have to get Jaune drunk first." Melanie smiled. "I'll go get us some drinks."

"Sorry I'm late!" A fourth voice squeaked. The second girl in red and black joined them with a weary smile.

"It's fine. Welcome Ruby." Cinder smiled as Melanie quickly returned with drinks for all of them. Well, almost all of them…

"Oh, shit I forgot we had another person joining us. Who is she again?"

"This is Ruby. She is a friend of mine from high school." Jaune introduced.

"Hello! It's great to meet you all." Ruby muttered.

"Sup? I love the way you dress by the way. You're a cute one." Milita grinned.

"Gee, I wonder why? She dresses in red and black like you and even has shorter hair." Melanie rolled her eyes.

"Whatever sis. Just hurry and get the new girl a drink. Is bud light okay with you?"

"Um yeah, that's fine. I'm not too picky with beer."

"I like her already. I'll be back in a second."

* * *

Weiss finished her first drink at the bar. Obviously not enough to get intoxicated or eve buzzed however, she did feel more _brave_ then normal.

She noticed a familiar blond boy walk into the club.

"No way… Seriously?" She was surprised to see him sure, but more worried after the incident the other night that he might think she was stalking him.

"Well, I was here first…" She muttered as her second drink came. She sipped it down readily and pretended not to see him. He had made it clear he wanted nothing to do with her and she would honor that.

Then she noticed Ruby had joined him soon after. "I didn't know those two still talked? And since when did he know so many pretty girls?"

One girl had long black hair with it partially covering her left eye. She was tall and incredibly attractive. It wasn't surprising to notice so many guys giving her glances.

The other two appeared to be twins. One having long hair while the other had shorter hair like Ruby's.

The girl chatted away with Jaune about things she couldn't really hear. However, they all looked like they were having a great time together. She watched the red twin laugh about something Jaune said before getting elbowed by her sister.

Ruby's eyes then locked with hers.

"Oh no…"

"Weiss? Hey Weiss!" The silver eyed girl ran over to her before turning to her group. "Hey Jaune, Weiss is here too!"

Weiss noticed the lack of surprise on the blonds face. No doubt he had been trying to avoid her as well.

' _Geez, it's been less than two full days since I talked to him last. I'm doing a terrible job at keeping out of his way…'_

She smiled. "Hey Ruby. Um, what's up? Fancy seeing you here."

"I know! I wasn't planning on it, but it's great. Me and Jaune were just hanging out with some of his other friends." The excited girl grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the table.

"Ruby wait."

Ruby ignored her. "Hey guys this is me and Jaune's friend Weiss. We have known one another since high school."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Cinder and these cuties are Melanie and Militia" Cinder introduced.

"It's nice to meet you all." Weiss muttered.

"Another hottie? Damn Jaune you sure have some sexy friends. That dress looks great on you." Melanie smirked.

Weiss blushed and averted her eyes. "Um, thanks. Anyway, I was actually just about to leave. It was good meeting you all. Jaune…Ruby it was great to see you all again."

"Wait!"

"Hmm?"

"You're the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, right?"

Weiss turned to face Militia. "So, what if I am?"

"Well, I was just about to ask Cinder and Jaune here for advice, but you might be a better person to ask since you're the daughter of one the most successful corporation the world has ever know." She smiled innocently.

"Okay? And what advice is that?"

"Well…Got any tips for going back to school? We kind of dropped out early in high school and was wondering if there was a way we could go to college without it."

"She is the one wondering. I'm not part of this really." Melanie stated evenly.

"Sorry, but you're going to have to work your way through high school if you want to get into college." Weiss replied.

"I see… Well, so much for getting another job someday." Militia frowned.

Weiss sighed and sat back down before crossing her legs and arms. Her typical thinking pose until she looked up to face the red twin once more. "You'll be fine. Both you and your sister."

"Excuse me?" The twins asked in unison.

"If you work hard enough, you two will be fine. Sure, a college degree helps, but you two already have something many people our age don't." Weiss smiled.

"What's that?"

"Our sexy bodies?"

"Your work experience." Weiss responded ignoring Melanie's answer. "I'm guessing you two have already worked here for a year or two at least and you don't have to leave anytime soon. That's good! It shows you can hold a job, plus you're gaining experience interacting with other people."

"So, could I still become a nurse then?" Milita asked.

"Well…You would still have to go to medical school for that and I'm not sure on the specifics of it. However, your job options aren't as limited as you think. They do have programs to help high drop outs but I'm not exactly sure the details." Weiss explained before finishing her drink.

"I see…"

"You can always look online for more details in that regard. I'm also sure any teacher or professor would know more."

"Alright. Thank you, Weiss." Milita smiled.

"I'm happy to help. Like I said, though as far as more simpler jobs you could still find another one. Even a decent paying one with the right connections or work experience. You can also apply for an apprenticeship in some fields outside of traditional schooling." Weiss explained.

"I see. I suppose I'll look into it." Militia smiled. "Thanks again for the advice."

"I suppose I will too. I can't think of being away from my baby sister for too long." Melanie sighed.

Weiss smiled back. "I know how important one's sister can be. I miss mine back in Atlas every day. I'm glad I could help you two. I wish more people our age would take their futures more seriously."

"That's Weiss for you. Always a super smart about this stuff." Ruby grinned after downing her first drink.

"Geez, you dolt! Don't chug your whole beer like that. Remember what happened last time you got drunk?"

"Oh? What happened?" Melanie inquired.

"I sort of made out with someone and almost slept with them…" Ruby blushed.

"Oh? Looks like you're not as innocent as I first thought." Milita grinned. "Me and my sis do that all the time. I'm still waiting on Jaune to make a move on us."

"Yeah, and we don't even have to be drunk for him." Melanie teased.

Jaune sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Now you two. Stop making our male friend uncomfortable or he may not want to hang out with you anymore." Cinder warned.

This stopped the twins in their tracks before they muttered soft apologies.

"It's fine Cinder." Jaune smiled. "It's normal to talk about that stuff. I don't really mind all that much."

Weiss looked away crossing her arms. A small blush on her face. "How indecent…"

"As if you're one to talk!" Ruby accused. "You and Neptune weren't even at prom for five minutes before you left to get a hotel room. You're a pervert yourself. Just a closet one."

"Ruby!" Weiss covered her face in embarrassment. "Don't tell people that! He wasn't even that good now that I think about it…"

"Oh? Trouble in paradise?" Milita smirked. "That sucks. Is he a fast shooter or just unskilled?"

"What!? That's none of your concern, thank you very much." Weiss huffed.

"Fine, fine. Keep all the juicy details to yourself." The red twin groaned.

"Geez, you lot are something else. Going from job advice to my sex life." Weiss turned to Jaune. "It was good to see you all again… I should go since it's getting late for me anyway."

"Aww. Bye Weiss. Hope we can do this again." Ruby chirped.

"It was nice to meet you Weiss. Sorry these two are so much trouble." Cinder waved before glaring at the twins.

Jaune gave a mute wave before turning to his drink.

"It was nice to meet you too Cinder." Weiss replied as she went to the bar and paid her tab before leaving.

* * *

Weiss returned to her dorm. She plopped onto her bed and pulled out her scroll. She hadn't sent a text to this number in a very long time, but she felt she should just apologize. She knew she hadn't technically did anything wrong, but she wanted to anyway, just, so he knew it wasn't intentional.

" _Hey, I'm sorry for joining your group like that…I know you didn't want to see me…Leave it to Ruby to make things complicated huh? Anyway, I won't bother you again. Hope you still have a grand night." – Weiss._

She wasn't expecting a response so when she got one a few minutes later it shocked her.

" _It's fine. Ruby is both our friends I suppose and it's not like you're not allowed to be at the same bar as me… To be honest, I was surprised you were so friendly and gave the twins advice like that. I haven't seen that side of you in many years. Good night." – Jaune._

Her heart flooded. It was true. She had been so caught up the popularity and her reputation that she had lost sight of when she was the happiest.

She thought about responding, but decided not to bother him and take time away from his friend any more than she already had.

Instead she apologized to Neptune over text for being gone tonight and then decided to get some sleep.

After all she probably had another long day tomorrow.

 **AN: Thanks for reading.**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: I'm sorry this took so long! Real life has been hellish but I got some time to finish this chapter finally. Thanks for your patience. Also, other characters like Yang, Ren, and Nora will have a bigger part later on in the story. I didn't forget about them. This also includes Jaune's parents.**

 **Beta:DragonManMax**

 **Chapter 7: The Note**

It had been a about month since Jaune had seen Weiss at the club. Surprisingly, she and the others had gotten along pretty well.

Pyrrha and Blake had also been pretty absent lately...He hadn't seen or heard a thing from them in the past month, and he hoped it would stay that way. The sad thing was his gut feeling _knew_ that wouldn't happen.

At the very least he was glad that his school work was going okay. He often had a lot of homework during the week and having to work on the side didn't make it any easier, but none the less he was still able to hang out with his friends on the weekend or even after class for a short period of time.

Though, all in all, life on campus was pretty good.

Jaune looked down to the math homework he was currently trying to finish. He was currently in his math class, and they had finished the lesson early so professor Goodwitch allowed them the rest of the class time to work on their homework.

Math was truly an abomination.

He looked the mess of seemingly random numbers and even letters with disgust.

Who invented this? Why? How?

His eyes glanced around to the front of the room. Students were all busy working silently except for one or two who went up to ask the professor a question.

Weiss sat alone in the front row. Normally two other students sat next to her, but they had already left after finishing. Even when they were there he never notices them talk to Weiss.

Part of him felt had hoped she would be more social with others, who might be just as smart as her, instead of just Ruby and her other she looked nothing like the girl who had bullied him in high school.

Now she just looked lonely…

He hated that. He hated that he was starting to feel sympathy for her.

She had done so much to him in high school, but now… Ever since college, she had been nothing but pleasant. Helpful even.

Could she have really changed for the better? He figured people never really changed deep down but if that was the case, then wouldn't Weiss have still been the same as she was before she left him for Neptune?

He froze when she looked up at him. It surprised him even.

Her icy blue eyes looking into his.

Quickly he looked back to his math homework. It was sad he was using math as an escape from the gaze of a girl.

The next few moments he tried in vain to solve the first question followed by erasing and starting over. He was about ready to get up and ask when someone tapped his shoulder.

Looking up, he saw those same icy blue eyes looking down at him. Her facial features seemed reluctant or hesitant even.

"Hey…" She greeted softly.

"Hey." He responded evenly.

"You looked like you need help?" She offered. "I mean… I know I'm the last person you would probably ask, but I just thought I'd offer anyway. I'm doing pretty well in this class, so I just thought if you needed it…"

Not sure what to make of her offer he shrugged. "I'm not sure. I mean I don't want to take up your time. I could always ask the professor or something. Cinder is really good at math too."

He appreciated the offer but didn't want to take her up on it. She had already given some good advice to his new friends in the past. Why? Why was she being helpful and nice? Why for the most part with the exception of fate inserting itself did she leave him alone like he requested until now? How could someone change so much in what seemed to be so short of time?

"I really don't mind. I mean, if you really don't want my help then that's fine… But as for me I wouldn't mind at all. I offered after all." Her face lowered as she looked at his notebook.

"Why?"

She looked back up to him? "Why what?"

"Why have you been acting so nice as of late? Why help out my friends? Why offer to help me when not to long ago I could have sworn you hated my guts? I don't get it all."

Her face twisted as if he had hurt her.

"Because… I'm sorry for what I did. I…" She paused as if struggling to speak. "I don't' know how to say it, but I really am sorry. I know I can't set things right with you, but I want to at least try in some way… If that's okay. Plus, I mean your math would get done faster with my help, so it would benefit you right?"

It was just math homework and he had little to lose from this. Actually, he had nothing to lose really.

"Alright. I could use your help then. Thanks…" As the words left his mouth, he felt like he was going to choke on the inside. He never thought he would say something like that again. Not in person anyway.

Her face brightened as she took the now empty seat next to him and pulled out her notes. "Cool." She handed him her notebook. "Take a look at this while I look over your sheet and see what you did wrong."

He nodded and did so. Weiss used to help with his math homework all the time in middle school. This was definitely starting to bring back more memories and…They weren't bad ones.

Upon looking at her notes he noticed how detailed they were compared to his. With this he would probably be able to figure out how doing it on his own. It was obvious she understood the material a lot more than him.

"So, it looks like you didn't get past the first question." She stated with a small smile. "And I can tell where you went wrong. Not that you looked over my notes can you tell now?"

He nodded. "Yeah… I forgot to divide there, and I should have carried over X as well."

"Very good." Her smile grew. "I'll help you work the others out just to make sure you get it okay?"

The situation still felt too unreal and nostalgic for him as he nodded. "Yeah…Sounds good."

Smiling, she pulled out her calculator and then together the two of them got to work on solving the abomination known as math.

* * *

Ruby hummed to herself as she strolled through the halls. Her English class had gone fine, and she handed her first major paper. She was pretty sure she had nailed it. As expected the halls were also sparse with people and so she made great time getting back to her dorm. Now she would have about two hours before her next class and the thought of what to do weighed on her mind.

As she neared her room, she found a surprising but familiar face near Jaunes room.

"Pyrrha? What are you doing here?"

The redhead froze for a moment before turning around.

"Oh, Ruby. You scared me. I didn't think anyone would be around at this time…"

"Yeah, Jaune is still in class I think, but I got done early in English today. Was there something you needed?" The rose asked, although confused as to why the redhead would be here if she knew no one was here.

"Oh, it's nothing major. I just wanted to return something to Jaune. Since he was out I decided to just slip it under his door." Pyrrha smiled sweetly and placed a folded piece of paper under her blond friend's door.

Ruby nodded. "Oh, okay." Although slightly confused, she decided to shrug it off.

"I have to get going. See you later Ruby." Pyrrha smiled and hurried off before Ruby could say another word.

"That's weird. She must have been in a hurry or something." Shrugging it off Ruby went back into her room and decided to finish the last comic book she was reading before her next class.

* * *

Jaune had finished his math class with very mixed feelings. Looking back at the things that happened with Weiss he wasn't really sure where he stood anymore.

The fact that he went from loving Weiss to being bullied and hating her to having her apologize to wanting her out of his life to getting life and math advice from her…It was too much!

The logical part of him was screaming that this shouldn't be possible and that he should shut that princess out of his life completely. Then the emotional part yarned for the days when they got along before high school. The fact that not only had she apologized, but also helped his new friends out in a way really did shock him. Not to mention helping him with this type of math was no simple task.

' _She must've have really changed…but why?'_

Jaune was pretty sure people didn't just change like that. In fact, he used to think people didn't change at all...But now he wasn't so sure.

Over the past few years, hate had been forged into him. Inner anger had become a way of life. His every existence warped to a degree that wasn't normal for most people. So where did that leave forgiveness? It never once entered his head before, but now with Weiss acting the way she was it ran the risk of opening the doors he thought to be closed forever.

It terrified him.

Alice would no doubt have been proud of him for forgiving her.

' _Alice was always too kind for her own good at times…'_

After Weiss helped him with his math homework she had hurried off to her next class. He on the other hand was making his way to his dorm.

Part of him was tempted to go to the bar and get a drink. To find some way to clear his mind, but the thought of ditching his next class also didn't sit right with him.

"Hey stranger. You seem lost."

His eyes looked up to see his favorite amber eyed friend. Of course, people were probably looking at more than her eyes. Wearing a pair of black short shorts and black T-shirt Cinder greeted him with a smile.

"Oh, hey Cinder. You look like your about to go for a run or something."

She smiled and placed a hand on her hip. "Close. I actually just got done with a run and shower. I decided to go out and grab a bit to eat and I was too lazy to put on different clothes for the day."

He nodded. "Oh, cool. I'm just heading back to my dorm."

Her face changed from a confident smile to one of worry. "Are you okay? You looked so lost in your own head, I thought you were going to run right into me if I hadn't said anything."

A wave of embarrassment went through him. "I'm sorry about that. I just had a lot on my mind. My ex just helped me with my math homework…

"Wait. It wasn't Pyrrha was it?"

Jaune shivered. "No! Thank God for that…"

"Okay good. Still…Your ex helped you? I can't even get ahold of my current boyfriend…"

"Sorry?" He muttered.

"It's nothing I haven't dealt with before." She shook her head. "Anyway, did you want to talk more about what happened with your ex?"

"No…Not right now. So, did you want to talk about what's going on with your boyfriend?" Perhaps focusing on someone else's problems for a change might help.

She shrugged. Her beautiful eyes sank to the floor.

Jaune felt his heart ache. Seeing such a fun, kind, and beautiful girl like Cinder have that type of look on her face made him want to hug her on the spot. Instead, he settled for asking another question.

The sad thing was he had seen that look a few times before. She never seemed to want to talk about it, but maybe now that they were alone then she would finally open up.

"We can talk about it in my room if you want? I got left over pizza if you're hungry? Also got some soda and juice."

Her eyes returned to his as she let out a smile. "I wouldn't mind that."

It didn't take long for Jaune and Cinder to return to his room. He noticed a folded piece of paper but decided to ignore it for now. It wasn't uncommon for random pieces of notebook paper fall out of his binder given his level of organization and so he placed it on the desk before getting his guest some pizza and juice.

A strange combination sure, but it was all he had at the moment.

Cinder sat down on his bed and crossed her legs. She smiled and offered a soft thank you when he put the snacks down in front of her.

He sat on the desk chair across from her. "So, what's the story?"

"It's nothing really…Nothing new. I have a bad habit of falling for the wrong guys. They usually stick around long enough for me to give them what they want before vanishing."

"Is that what you think your current boyfriend did?"

She nodded. "Probably. I think he moved on to this girl named Neo. It sucks…Just thinking about him makes me frustrated now. I actually really liked him. He was fun and had a great way with words. Very charming."

His heart sank. "I'm sorry. I haven't had the best luck with the opposite sex ether."

"It's fine…It might be my own fault."

"What do you mean?"

"Well…It's no secret I'm attractive." She placed a hand on her leg. "I know a lot of guys like girls like me. Tall, nice legs, long hair, pretty face and easy eyes. I'm sure my rack doesn't hurt anything ether."

Jaune nodded. He was mostly sure what she might be getting at but part of him felt a bit lost.

She paused and looked down. Her hand rubbed her leg as it trailed up to her shorts. "I actually started developing pretty early. Things started to get pretty weird for me at a young age. I did things I was probably too young to do with guys who might have been a bit too old at the time."

Jaune could easily guess where this was going now.

"Cinder…I…You don't have to tell me anything you don't feel comfortable with."

"It's okay Jaune." She smiled. "It's something I've come to terms with. I'm not really ashamed of my mistakes anymore."

Her eyes looked down however, as she continued. "Long story short, I started getting sexual at a young age and I started having a reputation. Especially in high school. I've been called every name in the book. Slut, whore, you name it and to be fair, it was probably true. I was the girl boys went to if they wanted an easy fuck. Every time I hoped it would be different, but I eventually learned the truth and it seems with Roman it wasn't any different."

"Cinder…I'm really sorry."

"It's fine…I'm just happy I didn't become a teen mom. I doubt any of those guys would have stayed to help with a child."

Jaune didn't know what really to say. Cinder seemed to give this information so casually, despite how heartbreaking it was to him. He wasn't really sure what to do in this situation.

With his silence, she continued. "It wasn't all bad though. I eventually met Adam, Mercury, and Emerald and then more recently I met the twins. I've had a lot of good times with them and they are there when I need them. I really can't complain."

He nodded. "I'm grateful to you for helping me meet them."

Her smile widened. "It's no problem. I'm really happy to have met you too Jaune and it's obvious they seem to like you as well." She leaned back against the bed as she continued. "Things weren't great at home ether…My dad was great, but he worked a lot. My mom's been in jail since I was a kid and my step mom, and two step sisters were pretty abusive when my dad wasn't around."

Jaune frowned even more. "Did your dad know at all?"

"No. I didn't want to tell him. He was already doing so much that I didn't want to burden him with such things. However, he soon found out when he noticed a black eye I had gotten. He didn't believe the whole falling down the stairs excuse ether. He divorced my step mom and we moved soon after."

"I'm glad your dad did something." Jaune had always been lucky in having great parents himself.

Cinder nodded. "Yep. Life's a lot better now for the most part, but I suppose love is still out of the question."

"I don't think so. You're an amazing girl Cinder. Not everyone has looks, brains, and even a fun personality like yours. I can't believe how dumb guys must be to ditch you like that."

"Maybe…It's probably my fault for being too easy. You're sweet though Jaune. Thank you."

Jaune knew what this was…Or what it could be. However, it was something he couldn't support. Cinder was someone he lusted for. In fact, if he did something, nothing would really come of it...Given his own past experiences with Weiss and Pyrrha, plus what was happening now he doubted being in another relationship would do him any good, or Cinder for that matter.

He could probably use this as an opportunity to get into her heart…And her pants if he wanted.

That wasn't something he was going to allow. She deserved a lot better then that. Instead he could do something else…

Just be the friend she deserved.

"Cinder?"

She looked up at him. "Yeah?"

"You know your current boyfriend?"

She nodded. "Um, yeah?"

"Fuck him."

She looked at him in disbelief.

"Excuse me?"

"Fuck him. Forget about him. Someone like him doesn't deserve to be in your thoughts. Instead, you need to think about the great time we are going to have this weekend. We are going back to the club and I'm inviting the others too."

"Oh, yeah?" Her confident smiled returned.

"Yep! Plus, afterwards we are going to return to play some video games. Also, lots of drinks will be involved. Hope you're not a lightweight."

"Since when did you drink so much?" She laughed.

"I don't. That doesn't mean you can't. I'll make sure no one tries anything. We should all just have fun with our friends." He smiled. Deep down, he hoped it would cheer her up. He didn't really know until recently but being with close friends often did wonders for him. He owed that to Cinder and hoped he could do the same for her.

"Alright. I can't wait. I hope being drunk will help us clear that dungeon me and Adam are still struggling to beat."

He shrugged.

Cinder lightly tapped his foot with hers.

"Thanks, Jaune. I can't wait to hang out with you and the others. People I know who actually care about me."

He nodded. "It's fine. You're my favorite nerd."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever dork."

He hoped this weekend would go as well as he promised. He still needed to get in touch with everyone about it too. He was still just _really_ happy to see that smile of hers again.

* * *

"Well I better get going. See you later Jaune."

Cinder smiled as they finished talking. She seemed in better spirits now and Jaune made it a point to avoid mentioning anything about her boyfriend in the future. In fact, he hoped she found a better one soon.

"Later Cinder. You better look forward to this weekend."

"I am now you dork. I hope you can handle me drunk." She grinned.

"I'm sure you'll be a breeze compared to what I'm used to."

"We will see." With a final wave she closed the door behind her and the blond was alone with his thoughts.

Jaune found her smile contagious and couldn't help but look forward to the weekend as well. He hoped the others really could join them. He was on the fence about inviting Weiss…And Ruby would probably want to go so he should probably invite her too.

His eyes traveled back to the piece of paper he found on the floor.

"I really should try to be more careful. This could have been something important."

Casually he picked up the paper and opened it.

" **Roses are red. Violets are blue. Your heart beats fast and I see _YOU_. Did you like my short poem Jaune? Because it's true. I see you always. I can see you when you sleep, and I know when you're awake. We. Will. Meet. Again. _MY_. Love."**

Panic set in and Jaune didn't even have to guess who had sent this. He looked around his room to see if anything was out of place. Hidden cameras? Did she sneak in somehow or did she slide this under the door?

He cursed under his breath. He knew he would be late if he didn't leave soon.

* * *

Ruby woke up from her short nap. She put the comic book that rested on her lap to the side as she stood up and went to go brush her hair before getting her stuff ready for her next class.

It didn't take her long and within ten minutes she was ready to leave. Opening the door, she was mildly surprised to see Jaune. It seemed he was about to leave as well, judging by the fact he had his backpack too.

"Hey Jaune!" She greeted.

He looked up and she could tell right away something was wrong with him.

"Oh, hi Ruby."

She also noticed a crumpled-up piece of paper in his hand as well.

"Is everything okay Jaune?"

He looked at her and then down at the paper. He sighed and handed her the paper. "See for yourself. Someone decided to write me a nice creepy letter."

Ruby took it when he handed it to her and started to read it. She felt some light shivers go down her spine. Surprisingly, she had seen some creepy stuff from some guys and even a girl back in high school when it came to herself or Yang. Mostly to Yang but the girl was trying a bit too hard for her.

Her eyes went back up to his. "Jaune…Who wrote this?"

The blond shrugged. "I have a few ideas. Did you see anyone around here? I'm not sure if you were back before me though."

"Well…I did see Pyrrha…She said she had to return something to you and slid it under the door, but I can't imagine her writing something like this right?"

To her surprise Jaune just shook his head while muttering. "I figured as much…"

* * *

Jaune had figured it was Pyrrha from the start but the fact that Blake hadn't done anything for a while worried him and so he couldn't completely rule her out.

"Jaune? What do you mean? It's normally Yang, who pulls weird pranks on you. That doesn't really sound like Pyrrha at all."

Ruby's innocent voice pulled him out of his contemplation. Part of Jaune had no real interest in telling Ruby of her friend's misdeeds. It wouldn't gain him anything and if she was too naïve to see their wickedness then that was on her.

However, keeping it from her now wouldn't do him any good either.

"It does to me Ruby. To be honest Pyrrha does this all the time back in high school. In fact, she has done way worse."

"What? How?" Ruby frowned. "She's been nothing but nice and sweet. She's smart and even helps me with my homework from time to time. I can't even picture a bad bone in that girl's body."

Jaune sighed. "Ruby you saw her here yourself, didn't you?"

Ruby paused and looked at the note in his hand before nodding. "I did…But that doesn't mean it was her for sure. It still could have been someone else!"

"Another person who also slid paper under my door like Pyrrha? Two people just happen to do that on the same day?"

She froze again unable to counter the evidence presented before. The very evidence that she had seen earlier and is now in Jaune's very hand.

"But…But why?" She stammered. "Why would Pyrrha ever hate you? Why would she ever want to hurt you or creep you out? I don't get it."

He sighed. "I don't even know what goes on in that psycho head. All I know is ever since high school started… She had her crazed eyes on me like a hawk. I don't get it either. I really don't. She obsessive...She even…"

Ruby waited a few seconds before asking.

"She even what?"

Jaune didn't respond right away. The memories of _that_ night were easily summoned back into his mind. Being trapped in that room for who knows how long. Getting hit in the head…Losing his virginity in the most unpleasant of ways.

"She even…" He paused. Even now he wasn't sure how to spill the words to Ruby.

"Jaune…What did she do?" Ruby pressed. Her hand touching his shoulder.

"It's…Not something I can say right now." He straightened. "Anyway, Pyrrha is good at hiding who she really is. She wouldn't have been one of the most popular girls in school if she wasn't."

Ruby bit her lip softly before shaking her head. "I'm sorry Jaune. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I just can't imagine Pyrrha being anything other than amazing…The evidence speaks for itself though."

He shrugged. "It's okay. I suppose… Anyway, thanks for helping me confirm it was her."

She nodded. "It's not a problem, but… What are you going to do about it? Are you going to tell anyone what Pyrrha did?"

"No." He shook his head. "I can't really."

"What!?" Ruby grabbed him. "Why!? I mean…If someone wrongs you then you should be able to do something about it right? You should be able to tell someone and have them help you. There should be justice."

"Ruby… The real world doesn't always work that way. I don't have enough evidence, even with you to do anything about it. Even this note, which they could and possibly _would_ assume one of us wrote. To be honest, I just don't know enough to tell someone. I don't think they would take my word over Pyrrha's."

Pyrrha was smart and wealthy. Try to convict her of anything was just out his realm of possibility. She would get off one way or another. If anything, it might even make things worse for him.

Ruby frowned. "I just can't believe it…" She looked back up at him. "Is there anything I can do Jaune?"

"Not really. I have to go to my next class. Just…Forget about it. I'll take care of it. This doesn't really concern you anyway. It's better to keep it that way."

"But if someone is wronging you…Even if it's Pyrrha then I want to help you. I care too much to let you suffer."

"It will be fine Ruby." He started to walk away. "I have to go now. Talk later, okay?"

"Sure!" She called after him before watching him go in silence.

In truth Jaune had little interest in pursuing this conversation with Ruby. He wondered if telling her as much as he did would prove to be a mistake.

Only time would tell…

 **AN: Thank you for reading.**


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